Impossible
by MusicIsLove92
Summary: Perhaps sometimes, meddling isn't something everyone will resent; the security of the Air Temple is compromised, and Zuko and Katara spend some quality time together. ZUTARA, Shifting POV: Rated T for safety.
1. Chapter 1: Home

_**(A/N: Hi! This is my first Zutara fic, so bear with me. Reviews and constructive criticism are always welcome, of course, but really I wouldn't be terribly surprised if anyone begged me not to continue this story... Anyway, I might even draw som FanFic art for this story in the future, now that I've got a scanner at my fingertips. If you'd like to do the same, send me the link and I'll post it here and on my profile. Thanks a bunch!)**_

**NOTE: I altered this a little, to make it a smidge more, eh, plausible. It won't effect the plot as a whole, but it will make this chapter about 200-300 words longer. Thanks for your patience, people, and I'll try and have the next chappie up as soon as I can.**

**Also: the bits in italics are flashbacks.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender, nor do I make profit off its use.**

**Spoilers: Up to Book 3, Chapter 16: The Boiling Rock Part II

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**Chapter 1: Home**

It was late afternoon in the Western Air Temple again, and Toph was practicing earthbending with Aang in one of the many open spaces in the temple. Katara's brother Sokka and his girlfriend Suki were supposedly off gathering firewood, but she knew better than that. She smirked to herself as she used her waterbending to wash off the dishes from breakfast. Admittedly, it was a lot quicker when she only had Toph, Aang, Sokka and herself to cook for and clean up after, but now they had company.

Now they had Teo, Pipsqueak, The Duke, Suki, Hakoda (not that Katara minded having her father around), and that new guy (though she could never remember his name), along with the rest of the original Gaang.

There was also the matter of the exiled Fire Prince, Zuko. The thought of him on _their_ side sent Katara's mind reeling.

"_Hi, uh, Zuko here... I think it's time I was part of your group."_

How could anyone trust him? He had hunted them for months, and now everyone had just accepted him into their daily routine as if he was always meant to be there. She finished washing the dishes and put them away as quickly as she could, relishing the thought of a bit of free time. She let out a deep breath and ran a hand over her hair backwards, casually checking the tied hair at the top of her head.

"_What are you doing!? Those mushrooms are poisonous!"_

"_Well, you would know, wouldn't you? You've done everything to capture the avatar, and now you expect us to believe that you've just given it up to _work _with your enemy?" Katara was obviously furious, and was willing to take every possible opportunity to bring up his past._

"_Come on! You can't honestly think that after all the time I've spent here, everything I've taught the Avatar, all we" -Katara did her best to suppress a laugh- "have accomplished as a team, that I would just throw it all away so easily! Please, Katara, you have to believe me. This, you, all of you are the only things I have left. My father would never allow me even near the center of the city, if he even cares at all about me anymore, positively or not." She swore she could almost see the pain reflected in his eyes. "Anyway, other than Uncle Iroh, I have nothing. If," he corrected himself, "_when _the avatar defeats my father (and my sister is out of the picture), I'll take over as Fire Lord and help Aang with the rest of, well, everything. All I want is to make up for what my father has done, and if this is the way, then so be it."_

"_So... you've really thought this all out, haven't you?"_

"_Well, joining in a fight against my own father, with the child I've been hunting for years _would _call for some deep thinking." A corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk, and Katara nodded._

"_I guess you're right." As much as it pained her to admit, Zuko must really have changed. It was all she could hope for, at this point. After all, Aang now knew at least the basics of the last element. If Zuko _was _going to betray them, he'd already sealed his fate. He would have to be really stupid to try anything, well, stupid. Katara nodded. "I guess I should thank you then. You brought back my brother safe from your little 'fishing trip' and rescued our father and Sokka's girlfriend, so... Thanks."_

_Zuko nodded and plucked the mushrooms from her hand. "I hope this means we can at least get along, for Aang's sake."_

"_For Aang's sake."_

A rumble sounded from across the temple, and she heard Toph yell something incomprehensible. She giggled and walked out toward the cliff at the outer edge. They had stayed on this layer of the temple for a while, and Katara had found the best places for meditation and calming herself down after a long day of work.

A figure sat silhouetted against the afternoon sun. At Katara's cliff. Well, she admitted, it wasn't really _her_ cliff, but she was the only one who ever meditated there. She stopped, crossing her arms and stepping behind a column. If this person thought they could just take over her spot, they had another thing coming! The figure was just about to stand when she heard another bang.

This time, however, she didn't hear any yelling from Toph (generally a bad sign), so she composed herself quickly. She ran across the main floor, bending a watersnake out of the fountain before continuing forward to the open meadow up the hill. Toph and Aang had adopted it as their battleground, and Toph now stood in the middle of it, clapping her hands slowly and nodding. Katara relaxed a bit.

Aang was in the corner, bending a stone dragon in the air around the Blind Bandit (who was looking a bit disconcerted, unable to feel where it was). An ecstatic grin was plastered on the Avatar's face, but he stopped the dragon momentarily to wave at Katara. She waved back before running over to him. The water she left behind sunk into the ground.

"Wow, Aang! That's so impressive! Congratulations!" His grin widened, and he let the boulder-dragon fall back onto the ground with another loud clatter and a jolt through the ground.

"Thanks! It took me all day to master, but I think I've finally got the hang of it."

Toph interjected with a foot driven onto the ground, effectively driving a column of rock a few feet into the air: with the Avatar struggling for balance (though compensating quickly for it with his airbending) at its top. "Yeah, yeah, yeah," she said with a wave of her hand, "good job. We're all very proud of you, now get to juggling those boulders, Twinkletoes. No Firelord is going to be swayed by a pretty little rock-lizard." She thumped her foot again, and the column withdrew into the ground, depositing Aang safely on a leftover pile of dirt.

"Actually, it was a dragon. Dragons have no feet." Toph crossed her arms. "Oh. Right. Sorry about that, I forgot." He blushed, and rubbed a hand at the back of his neck."

"Whatever. Get to it, Twinkletoes, Ozai's not gonna wait forever." Toph pointed to a life-sized rock figurine of the Firelord that looked faguely like Zuko, if a little fuzzy, taller, and lacking hair and a scar. Katara thought about saying something about it, but decided against it for reasons of self-preservation. She smiled, and took a step toward the earthbender before she heard someone clearing their throat at the outer edge of the clearing.

It was Zuko, dressed in full armor with both swords unsheathed at his sides. "Rather than a rock statue of my father, it would be wiser for training purposes if you fought me." He pulled off nonchalant well, even if it did make him seem a little younger. She raised an eyebrow and turned back to Aang.

"Sounds good to me! What do you think, Toph?"

"Just try not to hurt him too bad, Sparky." Katara snickered, watching intently as Toph moved toward Zuko to poke at his swords. She saw the earthbender's devious smile just before she yanked the swords from his hands.

"What're you-"

"How do you use these things?" Toph interrupted.

Zuko sighed. "You should really give those back, you could hurt yourself." Toph responded by jabbing one of the points at his chestplate a few times (the girl's blind accuracy stunning Katara for a moment), knocking him back a step. He sighed, and caved in. The two had been near inseparable since she had decided Zuko owed her for burning the bottoms of her feet.

Katara watched with an entertained smile as the Master Firebender stepped behind the twelve year-old Earthbending Master, bringing his hands to grip hers over the hilts of the swords, swinging them a few times. The smile on Toph's face was evidence: Zuko was trying (and succeeding, in a few cases) to be better, to be more _human. _Of course, Katara would never know what he had gone through in his life, apart from the stories he would tell around the campfire.

She had the feeling she was being watched. Turning, she caught Aang staring at her before he shifted and poked Zuko in the shoulder. "Come on, you've gotta help me practice!" Zuko nodded and slipped his swords out of Toph's hands with a deft sweep of his wrists. He straightened and nodded again to Aang.

"Let's get to it."

She knew Aang had a crush on him. It would be natural after spending 100 years cooped up in an iceberg, but it was just a harmless crush, right? He would get over her after a short while. Aang was, well, he was her brother, and he owed _everything_ to her. She had taken him under her wing, with the help of his brother, and that was it. That was the whole story. The few times he had kissed her, she passed them off as either friendly (in which case, Katara couldn't help but worry for her sanity), or his hormones.

All things aside, Katara wasn't the least bit surprised when the battle ended with Zuko, back on the ground, and Aang standing above him with a satisfied grin on his face. She had sat on a rock bench that Toph had bent, the two watching the fight intently and yelling cheers for alternating men.

She pondered, for a moment, the validity of referring to Aang as a man. Male? Of course. Fully grown? She didn't know, but it sounded like a stretch. Zuko was, as much as it pained her to admit, as physically grown up as he was going to get. This was obvious by his sculpted chest, muscled arms and precise/measured movements.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she was jealous of Toph because of her closeness with Zuko. It was nothing personal, of course, she just knew that having a bender as strong as Zuko would come in handy, especially with his skills beyond Firebending.

But that didn't mean she would show it, or even allow herself to think such things again. She smirked, crossed her arms over her chest, and walked away.

_**(A/N: Okay, guys, thanks for reading! This chapter is meant to just be an introduction to the time (it should follow canon, but if I left something out, let me know), character and Katara's feelings about a number of things (including Chit Sang's name, which she really did forget). This time, though, I'm really looking for responses and reviews so that I can improve my writing. Soo just click that button over there (you know, down and to the left) and show me the looooove. :D Thanks a bunch, and I'll be updating "The Long and Winding Road" later tonight. All my love, Khepri.)**_


	2. Chapter 2: Suspicion

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(A/N: Righty-o then. I really should be working on one of my other stories, but the Avatar: the Last Airbender marathon is fueling my muse, and helping me with the whole 'character motivation' thing. Anyway, this week will be centered on writing, at least until the show itself comes to an end. Thanks for reading, and please review! Constructive criticism is always welcome and invited. Also, I've decided to put every other chapter in Zuko's point of view, just to change it up, but also in homage to one of my favorite authors, Meeoko. Her link is on my profile!! If you think the story would be better otherwise, let me know.)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender, nor do I make profit off its use.**

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**Chapter 2: Suspicion**

"What _is _this?"

"It's traditional Southern Water Tribe food, now shut your mouth and eat if you want any dinner at all!" Zuko shrunk back in his chair and blinked a few times. Katara pointed to his food. "So stop complaining and enjoy it." He nodded and took another bite. It tasted like something Appa would like.

"How do the rest of you like it?" Katara swung around to see the rest of the group with almost eerie grins. Appa burped behind them. She took a bite, smiled, and closed her eyes. She sat back, and let out a happy little moan. "Just like Gran-Gran used to make."

Sokka was busy shoveling huge chunks of what looked to Zuko like barely-cooked fish. The meal also consisted of a lumpy purplish vegetable that smelled a bit rank, and some sort of fatty, salty noodle. At least, he hoped it was noodles. He took another bite, trying to sample everything before judging it, but had to spit it out behind him. He was so used to the firey-hot spices of Fire Nation food, it was odd to eat so much bland food. As a prince, he wasn't used to eating for sustenance as much as for its taste. Even when he was poor and living in the streets of Ba Sing Se, he was able to steal money and food as the Blue Spirit. Even Earth Kingdom food was better than the slop Katara tried to feed him. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand in a sad attempt to get the taste off his tongue, and set his plate on the ground.

"Uh, that was great, but really filling," he lied, and he caught a glimpse of Toph suppressing a snicker at his side. He shot her an evil look (though she laughed harder at that) and turned back to Katara.

"Yeah, Water Tribe food is good for that. Anybody want seconds?" The rest of the group rubbed their stomachs tiredly though he could remotely hear one of their stomachs growl. "Oh. Okay."

She washed and dried the plates in the fountain while the rest of the gang chatted idly, one by one filtering off into their separate bedrooms until it was just the two of them. Normally Zuko slept very little, his dreams often influenced by memories of his childhood that made his heart sore. Katara, he figured, didn't sleep much because the moon's energies fueled her, much like the sun fueled him. How they could stand each other was beyond him: they were polar opposites, both in nature and culture. He watched the flames in the makeshift campfire flicker, casting uneven lights against the Air Temple walls. Light footsteps echoed across the landing, and he turned to see Katara walking toward him.

"Aren't you tired?" She sat down across from him.

"I'm used to not getting much sleep. You?"

"I'm strongest when the moon is high, and sometimes I can't sleep because it gives me so much energy. Sometimes I can even feel the push and pull with the tides," she said with a look like she was far away, lost in thought.

"Why are you telling me this?" At a second thought, he sounded rude, so he turned to face her, but she shot him a look that made him wish he hadn't.

"What? I'm trying to be nice to you! I'm being a good person here, and if you're not going to at least return the favor, then-" Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Relax. I was just wondering why, that's all." He waved his other hand about, dismissing her threats. "I guess, thank you, for making the effort." He shifted his eyes, but could see her nod in his peripheral vision. "I think I will try to get some shut-eye if I'm going to teach Aang more firebending tomorrow."

"Goodnight then." Zuko nodded. "And, uh, sleep well." One side of his mouth lifted in a smile.

"Thanks, you too."

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Zuko woke up to the sound of pounding footsteps through the hallway, and Toph's yelling.

"Guys! Wake up! There's something here! Come on!" He stood in one swift movement and darted through the door and into the hallway, ignoring the nagging thought in his mind that told him he should probably put a shirt on. He followed the now distant steps in front of him, winding through the Temple while they gathered the group, one by one adding to those trailing behind Toph. When she finally stopped, they were at the storage room next to the kitchen. The door to the pantry was wide open, and the mechanism on the tiny lock (that Teo had put together for Katara, in order to avoid late-night snacking) had been melted from the inside. It was stealthily done.

"Fire bending."

"That's weird," said Toph. "I didn't hear anything earlier, no footsteps or nothing until it was on its way out. Whatever it was must have taken a whole lot of this food." She was kneeling on the ground, picking at the pieces of the door and spilled rice. Aang was suddenly at Zuko's side.

"How did this happen then?"

"Well, obviously it was someone very agile and light on their feet or the footsteps would have woken Toph on their way in..." he pondered. "Either way, this person could be very dangerous if they've got so much skill _and _firebending on their hands." He pinched the bridge of his nose

"Its okay, Zuko, whatever it was is long gone. It's not even up there," she pointed upwards, to the surface, "from what I can tell." Toph turned to face him. "He's not here, unless he's got a magic flying-"

"NOOOOOOO!" The group turned, and Sokka was on his knees by the foodstocks. "Gone... They're gone..." Suki put a hand on the warrior's shoulder.

"What's wrong, Sokka?"

"The sea prunes! They're all gone!" There was a collective sigh among the rest of the group, and Katara shot them a dirty look. That must have been what that lumpy vegetable was, Zuko figured with an inward cringe.

"Who in their right goddamn mind would steal those!?" Toph covered her mouth, sightless eyes wide though unfocused. Someone in the group cleared their throat, though Katara was too busy helping her brother up off the ground to notice the earthbender's outburst. "Uh. What now?"

"I'm hungry," Aang said with eerie cheerfulness.

The sun had already risen, and Zuko was surprised that he didn't feel the slight increase of power in his inner flame. His stomach rumbled quietly in accordance with the Avatar's comment.

Breakfast ended up a quick mixture of mushrooms (where did they find those?), eggs and some unidentifiable greens. It was a bit oversalted, but he had learned that spending time with the Avatar meant accepting food as food rather than its entertainment and conversation value. Ah well, he thought, it was good to get something in his stomach.

The mushrooms, though, they tasted funny. Apparently, the rest of the group didn't like them at all, and just picked them off and left them on the plate, and even Katara frowned at the final product they ended up being. He was the only one with those little fungi on his plate, but not wanting to be rude, he ate as much of them as he could. Zuko had to admit to himself, though, that the little things had grown on him after the 5th try. He even stole a few off Toph's plate when she was done eating! It was unlike him, but the stupid things were too good.

He lifted his face back up to the rest of the group, but his eyes immediately settled on Katara. Her hair was down and around her shoulders, those hair loopies only attached to the back of her head with another tiny blue clip. Her blue eyes were focused on a small amount of water that she was morphing in the air into an air bison, a flower, a miniature version of herself. Oh, but it did her no justice at all. The summer did its part in keeping her in lighter clothing that unveiled those lean curves. Her lush lips pursed in her concentration, and she smiled when she managed to make the Water Katara dance a silly little jig. He so wanted to just sit beside her and run his hands through her hair, hold her against him and savor the feel of her heartbeat against his as she fell asleep. He blushed, but was unable to turn his head.

"Great Sages, you look... _amazing_." He managed to wipe a little drool from the side of his mouth, but leaned toward her. The group turned with dumb looks, and blinked at him.

"Guh... Did he just say what I think he did?" Toph's jaw promptly fell to the floor.

"Something is very wrong with this picture," said Sokka.

_**(Get it? The GAang fed their food to Appa. So cute. And yes, there is something wrong with poor Zuko. Willing suspension of disbelief people, and I'm far too tired to add more time between breakfast and head-over-heels Zuko, so suck it up. Okay, I didn't mean that, but just deal with my stupidity until I can add to this tomorrow if you all find it necessary. All my love, Khepri.)**_


	3. Chapter 3: Strange Behavior

_**(A/N: I don't know whether to jump with joy, or cry! The finale to Avatar: The Last Airbender is coming so soon! I really want to see what happens and who gets the 'ship with Katara, but I also don't want it to end! At least I get a full movie-length feature on Nick on Saturday night, so I'll be sated for a little while, but it just won't be the same without the show. Anyway, those marathons are daily now, so I'll be updating as soon as I can for the next few days, minus the weekend. My thanks go out to everyone who's been reading, adding the story to their faves/alerts and reviewing it. These people include: FaithandLove, CuriousBabyVamp, Laliz, Pepipanda, Phoenix Wingz, Avatar Kiba, meluvtasuki, Veronica10, and ktsvillefan. Keep the reviews coming! They make my soul very happy. I really love hearing from you guys, and the little conversations I've had with some of you have really made my day. Even if you only want to say 'Hi', you should still go and review. Special thanks go to Avatar Kiba and CuriousBabyVamp because they have really helped me improve my writing. Thanks again, and on with the show!!)**_

**NOTE: I've also post-submission edited this chapter with just a few little snippets from other characters, thanks to suggestions by CuriousBabyVamp. Thanks again, and I'll try and have another chapter up tonight to thank all of you, even those of you hiding in the shadows, for 14 reviews, 746 hits, 3 faves and 7 alerts. Maybe we can make it to 17:850:5:10 by Chapter 5? :D S_i_ se puede!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender, nor do I make profit off its use.**

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**Chapter 3: Behavior**

"What's wrong with him?" Sokka asked, poking at Zuko's shoulder with a corner of his boomerang. Katara had stood, but was now taking slow steps backwards.

"Don't walk away, Katara, I need you here with me. Please, don't leave me here, I can't stand not being able to see your beautiful face," Zuko pleaded, standing quickly when she was a few feet from the edge. Her eyes widened as he just kept going toward her, and she was remotely aware of Sokka and Aang yelling something incoherent at her as she took another step back, falling backward over the abyssal canyon, and Suki gasped.

He reached a hand toward her, but her own arms were busy swinging in the air to keep her from falling off the edge. It was too late, though, and before Appa could moan in protest to the idea of having to get up and save her, she had slipped off the edge completely. Zuko reached his hand further out, grabbed her wrist and pulled her back onto the flat and into his arms. She was too shocked to say anything, and too scared to pull away. She was pasted there in Zuko's embrace, and though she had to admit to herself that it was warm and welcome, she wasn't exactly blind to the rest of the group staring at the two of them. None of them had gone over to help her except Zuko, even though a few of them (namely Hakoda, Suki and Haru) stood with gaping mouths. In the back of her mind, she thought they would catch flies with their traps open like that.

He shifted against her, and breathed in her ear, "You should really be more careful." She reddened, and pulled away from him, careful to avoid the ledge. Katara could see a shadow of hurt in his eyes, but she shook her head. "Come now, darling, don't I get a thank you?" He stepped just once after her, his arms lifeless at his sides. Her face betrayed her emotions, shifting from disturbed, to shocked, to dumbfounded. _Darling?! _She stepped back again, and a warrior's hands gripped her shoulders. Sokka searched her eyes, clearly looking for any signs of distress in her vibrant blues.

"Katara, are you alright?" She nodded, and cleared her throat. A silence stretched over the rest of the group like a thick blanket.

"Yes, I'm... I'm fine." She heard Suki released a breath behind her, and noticed the more relaxed shift in the rest of the group's posture.

"Can I get you something?" Chit Sang, that guy Sokka saved from the Boiling Rock, stepped forward and bowed shortly.

"Anything? Uh, water?" Haru stepped up to the plate as well, and Hakoda (after having been struck speechless by Zuko's _brave_ moves) moved beside his daughter.

"Perhaps you should go rest for a while, Katara, I'll need to talk to Zuko later." Hakoda leaned toward his daughter and almost whispered the last part in her ear. She shook her head though, there was too much to be done, and a scare like that meant nothing compared to what Aang would have to go up against before the comet arrived.

"Should I start cooking dinner?" Teo offered, pulling a crank on the side of his rolling chair, releasing a wooden flat that served as a table. He was ignored, and Sokka turned back to her.

"Something needs to be done. Katara, I hate to ask this of you, but you're the only one of us that knows anything about healing and... that kind of stuff. I need you to see if you can find anything wrong with Zuko. Aang, you check his room and see if anything was tampered with, and I'll check the food storage to look for anything out of the ordinary. Everyone good with that?" The group nodded, and those not involved in the plan went off in different directions after a bit of hesitation from those other than Teo, Haru, Pipsqueak and The Duke (who, of course, would be going to explore more of the Temple). It would mean that today, Aang would be taught nothing, but the health of the group was just as important, and he wouldn't learn anything from Zuko while he was so... out of it. She turned to try and see what Zuko was doing, but he was just sitting on the ground where she left him, staring after her like a lost turtleduck.

Aang nodded to Sokka and left for Zuko's room, mumbling something to himself as he went. Sokka put his hand on Katara's shoulder, and looked her in the eye. "Are you going to be okay here alone with him?" She nodded, a little unsure, but was willing to do anything to return to normalcy. Her brother eyed her suspiciously. "I know, I don't like this either, _trust me_," he said before glancing over to Zuko, who was etching a picture of a chibi-fied Katara in the dirt. He looked up to Katara, and gave her a huge grin.

She blinked.

"Yeah. I think I'll be okay. He's no threat at all, even you can see that. It'll just be..." she swallowed. "Weird." Sokka nodded and left for the food pantry, not bothering to disguise the run he made to their only food stocks and the grin plastered on his face. Clearly, he was going to enjoy raiding their supplies. She shook her head a little, then turned back to face Zuko. He was standing now, but he canted his head to the side and let his smile fade.

"Zuko."

"Yes, Katara?"

"Are you, uh, feeling alright?"

"I feel perfectly fine. Don't worry yourself about me, sweetheart. Are you okay?"

"Fine. I need you to lay down and... and close your eyes," she said, trying to figure ways of making the whole thing less complicated and awkward. He did as she asked without question, which in and of itself made it obvious that something was wrong. She knelt beside him, and bent some water from out of the fountain and between her outstretched palms. "I apologize, but I need you to, uh, take your shirt off." She blushed a little at her own request, and a bit more when he raised his intact eyebrow suspiciously. "Just do it. Please." The last word was added as an afterthought, but she was glad for it when he did as she asked with a thin and acknowledging smile. He tossed it to the side, and lay back down, eyes to the ceiling. "Thanks," she said shortly.

She let the water coat her hands, relishing in the familiar feeling before placing them on his chest. He gave her a knowing but sly smile, and closed his eyes. His taut muscles beneath her palms were hard not to focus on, but after a moment to compose herself, she closed her own eyes and focused on trying to find something, anything out of the ordinary. He was tense everywhere, that much she could tell, and he harbored so much pain there. She frowned, moving her hands lower. He had been hurt so many times, not one spot in his body had been spared. She could almost feel the guilt he suffered, almost forgetting what she was supposed to be doing. Katara pulled back, letting the water fall back into the fountain. At the splash, Zuko's eyes opened, and she blinked.

"I'm sorry, I didn't find anything beyond the, uh, what wounds you had already." At his lack of words, she sighed. "Close your eyes again." He nodded, and did so. She called the water back to her hands and let them fall to his chest again. "Breathe deeply." She closed her eyes again, and let the water relieve some of his pain. She would never be able to take all of it away, but she did as much as she could. When she was done, he sat up and felt around his muscles, then looked back to Katara with a boyish smile.

"Why did you do all of this?" She felt her cheeks heat.

"I help who I can, regardless of..." she sighed. "everything."

"Well," he said as he stood, brushing off his pants. "Thank you very much." Before she could respond, he took her into his arms again and rested a hand on the top of her head. "You are amazing," he whispered in her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. His bare skin was warm against her clothed form, and for a moment she allowed the stress of the day to slowly melt away and into his embrace. Normally, she would never show so much weakness, never allow herself to become so easily manipulated, but this was not an ordinary day, and she really was in need of a hug.

_Especially if its from a fire-nation hunk of a prince, right? _her mind sneered, and she mentally slapped herself before physically pulling back. "I... uh..."

"No, its okay, I understand." Zuko smiled whole-heartedly, and took a tentative step back. "You are an amazing woman, though, and I hope you know that. I never realized it, and somehow, I do now, but you are. I don't know how I couldn't have seen it, but the important thing is that I do now. I know I'm not exactly the Avatar," he said thoughtfully, looking down, "but I also know that I... well, I can be everything you want, everything you need. I know this sounds cheesy, but I would do anything for you, Katara."

Her jaw went slack, and she took another step back. He stayed where he was, but reached a hand toward her. "I... I..."

Her hands went to her mouth, and she stepped back again. She was at a loss for words. She blinked at him, and though he was smiling happily, her heart was bitterly tense. She shook her head dumbly, and turned, running straight to her room. In his current state, she really should have expected such things of him, but hearing anything like that from _anyone _wasn't something she took lightly, even if he was horribly sick.

Sokka rounded the corner just before she did, and she stopped in her tracks. "Katara, I found a sack of mushrooms in the food closet that I haven't seen before. The bag has fire nation insignia on it, so I know I didn't find them scavenging. Zuko didn't bring any food with him here, did he?" She shook her head, still unable to form words. "That's what I thought. I don't know how they got here, but they smell funny. I think that's what made Zuko sick." Katara nodded, thinking back to the mushrooms she put in their breakfast. For the moment, she would allow herself to forget why she was running away from Zuko. _Funny, _she thought, _this is the first time I'm not running from him because he wants to kill me, but I still feel like Momo crap._

"Sokka, did you eat the mushrooms I put in breakfast this morning?"

"Eugh! No. Nobody did, from what I saw. Nobody but..."

"_Zuko,_" they said at the same time, their eyes wide.

"Monkeyfeathers."

"If it was the mushrooms, and the only thing they cause is that, uh, delirium, then there's nothing we can do until they get out of his system. He should be fine, I think, but it may take a few days."

"But, the fire nation insignia... There was no food when we got here, was there?" Sokka queried.

"No, none. Someone must have put them here, probably knowing they were poisoned."

"Ugh, monkeyfeathers! That means that it was a trap, a set-up! Someone snuck in, took our food and placed those poisoned mushrooms here."

"That's really weird. We should go tell Zuko."

_**(A/N: Thanks everybody! The next chapter won't be ironing out those questions you all have, but the one after it will. Thanks for reading, and please review! I love how quickly this story is beginning to blossom. All my love, Khepri.)**_


	4. Chapter 4: An Unwelcome Guest

(A/N: Hi again

_**(A/N: Hi again! I'm so excited! Not only do I now have a Beta-Reader, CuriousBabyVamp, but this story continues to grow almost exponentially in popularity! :D It makes me so happy! Yay! Anyway, this was a tough chapter to write because its in Zuko's perspective, and being a bit mentally ill, I had to try and keep it from being too terribly OOC. Thanks for reading, and please please please keep reviewing!)**_

**Disclamer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender, nor do I make profit off its use.**

**Chapter 4: ****Unwelcome**

Aside from the love of his life having walked, no, _ran_ away from him that afternoon, Zuko felt _great. _It was like a terrible weight had lifted from his shoulders, and though Katara and everyone else seemed perturbed by his actions, he was happy. Every time he saw her that morning, his heart sped up, his stomach caught fire, and, even though he kind of felt like vomiting flames, it was perfection. When he had saved her from falling off the ledge, he had hoped maybe she would mirror some of his feelings for her, but that failed miserably. All that had earned him was a stern talking-to from Hakoda about his behavior around his daughter; it was an empty threat, and both knew it. Katara would do what she wanted, and Zuko kept hope that she would come to her senses.

He made sure to keep his spirits high, though Aang had told him that afternoon that practicing firebending would only serve to make his "illness" worse. He didn't know what that was supposed to mean, but at least now he had some free time.

He stood by the ledge of the fountain and dusted off his shirt and pants with the back of a hand. In the back of his mind, he wished that Uncle Iroh were there. He would certainly know what to do about his relationship with Katara. Zuko sighed, and stepped toward the ledge that Katara had slipped off of.

Sitting on the ledge, he dangled his legs off and watched his feet as they swayed. He raised a hand and let the tips of his fingers trace his scar. Perhaps, he thought, if he were rid of the scar, Katara might love him the way he loved her. He couldn't pinpoint a few, or even just one, reasons why he felt the way he did, but he supposed it was everything about her, as a whole. The trouble was that the Avatar felt the same way. The way he looked at her, well, it was too much like the way Zuko felt. Aang was so much more powerful, and was still a child. Zuko was too grown up- his banishment had forced it upon him.

He groaned and let himself fall to the side with a thump.

"Zuko!" He jumped up, started, and by instinct fell into a fighting stance. When he saw Sokka walking toward him, he relaxed and let his arms fall to his sides. He blushed furiously when he saw Katara trailing close behind her brother, and the stern look on her face. She stopped beside her sibling and looked down at the floor.

"Zuko, do you remember the mushrooms that Katara put in this morning's breakfast?" Sokka looked him in the eye, and suddenly he felt very small.

"Yes. They were pretty good. Why?"

"They were poisonous." Well, at least he was blunt about it.

"That can't be true, I feel fine!" He threw his arms up in the air, and Katara shot him a skeptical look.

"You're not exactly acting that way. Not like normal," she said a bit nervously, looking back to the ground. "You should be fine within a few days, but we have no way of knowing what else the poison does, other than..." she cleared her throat and looked to Sokka, "delirium."

"But I'm not delirious! I don't know where you two got this crazy idea from, but I feel great! Nothing is wrong with me." He moved to walk away, but heard footsteps behind Sokka. Aang stood beside the warrior and watched Katara for a moment before speaking.

"Nothing suspicious in his quarters." Aang was in his room? He scowled, but said nothing about it. He was, after all, a guest, but also a little discomforted by the thought of him snooping through his personal stuff.

"Yeah, we know." Sokka turned to face him. "It was the mushrooms that Katara cooked this morning, but Zuko doesn't believe us. He says he feels fine." Aang shrugged at this.

"Well, let's just leave him alone. He'll be better soon, right?" Katara nodded. "Then it doesn't matter if he believes it or not." Aang smiled, obviously proud of himself. He lifted his hands and made a ball of air which he promptly sat on and, laughing, spun away toward a crash (and laughter of the boys) in the opposite end of the temple. "Wait up, guys!"

Sokka face-palmed, and shook his head. "He's right though. I'm gonna go find Suki." He smiled goofily and skipped off to where Suki had been hiding behind a pillar, apparently having known she was there. He looped an arm around her waist, kissed her forehead, and got punched in the gut for it. Zuko laughed, but Suki shot him a glare that rivaled those of Hakoda. Apparently, he figured, Sokka valued his time with her more than protecting his sister from a banished fire nation prince. It was enough to make him smile, seeing the two of them together.

"Um, I think we need to talk," Katara said softly, like she didn't want it to be true. His smile subsided.

"About what?" She sighed and went to sit on the ledge. _Why is she putting herself in the same danger as earlier? Girls are crazy._

"I just... I don't know. I don't know why you feel the way you said before, or how you got to feel that way, but I can't."

"Can't what?" Zuko sat beside her and looked at his feet again.

"I don't like you the way you..." Her voice trailed off, and she frowned before shifting her own eyes to the canyon below.

"Katara. Please, I..." He rested his head on his hands and fought the urge to just walk away from her, but those crystalline blue eyes kept him glued to the spot. "When I'm around you, I feel like nothing could be better. The only thing I've ever known about love was in Mai, but I couldn't bring myself to feel so strongly about someone. I've been, well, detached. My whole life, I've been the only one I could trust. Me and my uncle, but I can't help but trust you with my life, my heart. I..." He gathered what courage he could find, and looked into her eyes. Suddenly, the world seemed smaller, and the only thing that mattered was her. "I'm in love with you, Katara."

She flung her hands in the air and slapped both onto her face, letting them slide down to fall in her lap. "That's what I was afraid of. Zuko, you don't really feel that way." His eyebrows lowered. "You've never liked me. You've always hated me! This... _feeling _you have, it's just the mushrooms messing with your mind."

"No, it is not! How can you say that!? I know how I feel, and it's not just some freaky fungus screwing with me. You just don't get it, do you? I _love_ _you_, and you think it is just the work of a mushroom?" He groaned and pounded his head with a fist. "Dammit, this isn't the way it's supposed to be." He looked back to see her eyes sparkling with unshed tears, and he relented. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you, it wasn't fair to you, and now... I have ruined everything. I didn't mean to hurt you, I'm sorry, please Katara." He raised his eyebrows pleadingly. "Please don't cry."

Suddenly, she stood, and her hands formed fists at her sides. Her face reddened, and she breathed angrily though a tear fell down her cheek. He moved to stand and brush the tear from her face, but she snarled and he fell back in his surprise. "Quiet! You're going to sit down, shut up, and listen to me, got it?" He nodded quickly, but she only blinked. "You do _not_ love me. You _can't. _Got that? If I hear one more word about it come out of your royally stupid mouth, I'll make sure you _never _think _anything_ like that _ever _again. You don't love me. It _is _those stupid mushrooms messing with your emotions. I don't love you!" she half whispered, half screamed. "I'll _never _love you! I don't!" Another tear. She almost seemed like she was convincing herself of what she was saying, but then again, who was he to assume he knew her that well? All he knew was that _yes_, he did love her, but she didn't love him. Couldn't, she said. His jaw slackened, and he stood, head canted toward the ground.

"I... I see." He saw her posture relax, and another tear fall from her wide, beautiful blue eyes. "I never meant to make... this happen. I'm sorry. Just... forget I said anything." She let a breath go, one that he didn't know she had been holding. Her head dropped forward a little, and she waved him away with one hand. He nodded, though he knew she couldn't see it, and took another step back.

"GO!" she yelled, and he walked with alacrity back to his room.

When he stepped through the door, he slammed it when he heard her talking to Toph a ways away, and collapsed onto his bed. He pounded on the cushion until he fell into a fitful sleep. When he woke, dinner was halfway over, but he had no appetite. Sokka knocked on his door and Aang pleaded with him, but he only told them to go away.

Sokka tried to tell him the same thing Katara had told him, but he yelled obscenities at him until he left. It was not going to be a pleasant few days until that ache in his heart would go away.

_**(A/N: Sad chapter, I know, but the next one should explain the majority of your questions and concerns about the whole thing. Maybe you'll even find out who put the magic mushrooms in their food stocks! :P Thanks again to CuriousBabyVamp for reading over this and correcting my tiny mistakes. Review n' stuff, please! All my love, Khepri.)**_


	5. Chapter 5: Please

_**(A/N: Aaah! OHMIGOD! More than 1000 hits, everybody! Thank you all soooo much! In honor of this momentous occasion, I'm offering myself up to any and all suggestions from **_**you!****_ Plots, stories, chapters, one-shots, or tips: doesn't matter! I'll also (hopefully) post a one-shot taking place post-war, just as a simple thank you. I've also got 21 reviews, 5 faves and 11 alerts going for this story, which is pretty much amazing. It makes me so happy! You all have me singing in the shower... )_**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender, nor do I make profit off it.**

**Chapter 5: Please**

Katara had cooked some opossum-chicken that Chit Sang had scavenged. At first, she figured he had stolen it from a nearby farm, but now that she thought about it, she couldn't be sure. She didn't see any farms around for numerous miles, but he still seemed like a shady sort of character.

She cleaned the dishes silently, trying to focus on the conversations around the tiny campfire. Aang was arguing with Chit Sang about fire nation schools, from time to time reminiscing happily about certain things, lessons, she figured. Sokka and Suki had disappeared a while earlier, and Hakoda had gone to look for them after repeatedly asking Katara if she was alright. Toph, Pipsqueak, The Duke and Teo were off exploring the temple, as usual, and Teo was blowing things up every which way. Occasionally she heard Toph's giggling, and would smile to herself. At least someone was happy.

Earlier that evening had been tough. Everyone had questioned her relentlessly about what she had said to Zuko that would get him so depressed. After explaining that he had asked for it (leaving out the specifics) and how she _did _feel bad about it, they left her alone. It was true, she really did feel bad about it. No one deserved to have their heart broken, and though his words that morning had made her heart swell with pride and add that much to her self-esteem, he was still drugged. Even if seeing him look at her that way did make her heart beat faster, but it was only her hormones. She knew better than to believe something so ludicrous.

A youthful voice at her side shook her from her thoughts, and she turned her head. "What did you say, Aang? I'm sorry, I wasn't listening." She forced a tired smile, and he returned it unquestioningly.

"It's okay. I said that Zuko was still in his room, and Toph doesn't want to invade his space by metalbending the lock open. I don't know what to do. I've asked Chit Sang, 'cause he's the only one around, and he doesn't know either. What do you think?" Aang took a step back, apparently because Katara needed more room for thinking.

"I don't know! This isn't my problem!" Aang shuffled his feet.

"Well, it kind of is."

"Whatever. I don't know. Go away," she said, turning back to the dishes. She saw Aang stay where he was for a moment, then went back to the campfire.

How dare he ask her! Couldn't he _tell _she didn't want to talk about it? It wasn't fair, really, she had to say what she did. If he took it too hard, well... Then, maybe, it would be her fault, and she would have to do something about it.

_Did_ he take it too hard, though; that was the question. She frowned, and stacked another dish.

_Monkeyfeathers. _She felt bad. Taking a step back, she had to take a deep breath to keep from breaking down herself. Why did she yell at him? It wasn't his fault he felt that way! She didn't know what had gone through her mind, but a lump formed in her throat at the memory of his face when she screamed at him that she could never love him. Sure, he had been their enemy for months, had chased them all and nearly killed them, and had even lied to Katara about being good. He had also freed Appa, helped Aang escape Zhao, gave up everything he had to join them (including a girlfriend, she reminded herself), taught Aang firebending, and helped Sokka rescue her father, Suki and Chit Sang at the Boiling Rock. She put the last dish on the stack beside the fountain and stood. She stretched her arms over her head, and yawned. She turned her head to Aang, who was laughing with Chit Sang.

"Hey, Aang, I think I'm going to head to bed."

"Oh, okay. Sleep well." He gave her a brief smile, and yawned. "Me too, I think." Chit Sang nodded and stood.

"Night," he said, and disappeared into the far wing of the Western Air Temple.

"Good night." Aang soon did the same after putting a friendly hand on her arm as if he knew she would need reassuring. Left alone at the landing, she sighed and looked around. Wasn't she the one who was going to bed? Maybe she had yelled a little _too_ loudly earlier.

She took the opportunity alone to sit at the ledge, her legs folded to the side. The moon was almost full, and it shone down on her through a few scattered clouds. The stars were bright against the midnight sky, like holes in a dark blue blanket, and surplus light reflected off the water in the fountain, casting crystals of moonlight across the walls. They swung in dizzying motions, and for a while Katara was lost in them, until she heard someone clear their throat behind her.

"Toph! What are you doing up?"

"I heard Aang's and that new guy's footsteps through the hallways, but not yours. I figured something was up. Are you okay?" Katara started to nod, but caught herself.

"Uh, yeah, of course. You can go back to bed."

"Nuh uh, Sweetness. What's on your mind? I can tell by your heartbeat that there's something you're not telling me. Spill." Katara sighed, but scooted over so that Toph could sit beside her. The 12 year old only had positive intentions, she knew, but sometimes she had a funny way of showing it.

"It's about Zuko." She saw Toph's one-sided smile, but ignored it. "I feel guilty about having to break his heart like that, even if it was only his sickness, and I don't know what to do." Toph sighed, disturbing the choppy hair that fell in front of her face.

"Do I have to say it?" Katara blinked. "Go apologize! Sheesh, I thought it was obvious."

"But I don't feel like I did anything wrong!"

"Well, duh! That doesn't matter anyway. There are some things that come with friendship, and I don't think breaking his heart is one of them. It wasn't fair, you have to admit, and the only way to fix it is to apologize. I'm not telling you to take back what you said, just say sorry and be done with it." Katara let out a breath.

"Okay. I can do that." _What are you talking about? You have to do that! You'd get no sleep anyway, and the guilt would eat you up inside. _"Thank you, Toph." She smiled, and pulled the girl into a hug. Well, it would have been a hug if there had been no tears. Those that hadn't been shed that afternoon fell from her closed blue eyes, shut tight, and into the green cloth on Toph's shoulder. Her friend patted her on the back awkwardly but reassuringly, and Katara heaved a sob before pulling away. "I- I'm sorry, I just got a little swept up and I-"

"It's okay, trust me. Now wipe your tears and go apologize before you change your mind." Toph smirked and pulled Katara to her feet. She gave her a brief hug, and shoved her toward the wing where Zuko's room was.

Katara knocked on the door timidly, but heard a firm 'go away' from the inside.

"Zuko, please, I just want to talk to you." There was a lengthy silence, but just before Katara thought of leaving, the door opened. Zuko stood inside his room, but the scowl she expected was gone. He was void of emotion, and it scared her for a moment before she composed herself again. "Can I come in?" He nodded once, and opened the door wider. His room was dark, but from what she could tell, it was exactly like her own, minus the few personal touches he added. There was a framed portrait on his nightstand, but she couldn't make out who it was. She heard Zuko clear his throat behind her, and she turned back around to face him.

"Um... I wanted to apologize. I shouldn't have yelled at you, and I was short with you. It was... insensitive. I'm so sorry, Zuko." _You've certainly come along way since hating his guts for lying to you, hm? _

"But you still meant what you said." It wasn't a question. She knew there were some parts of what she had told him, though, that she would never truly mean to say. Not that she would admit it.

"Well, yes."

"Leave." That wasn't a question either.

"Zuko, please! I'm trying to make things better, okay?" He only blinked at her. "I do regret having yelled those nasty things at you, and I know there are better ways to have said them, but I can't take them back. Can you please just give me the opportunity to explain myself?" He sat down on his bed.

"You have to know that I don't mean to hurt you when I say these things, but you _cannot _be in love with me. Even if after everything that's happened, even if it isn't the mushrooms making you think this way, I can't let this happen." If she wasn't frowning before, she certainly was now. "Please believe me, I'm not saying this just to hurt you. There are so many reasons that even if I did return your, uh, sentiments, nothing would ever come of it. Aang depends on both of us to be his teachers, his support, and only that. Besides, it would all just be a distraction." She almost surprised herself with the amount that she had thought this over, how in-depth she had made sure to think everything through. "Truth be told, I don't know that I've still completely forgiven you for everything you've done, everything you stand for. Every facet of my life before finding Aang was the fault of the fire nation, and you never did anything to try and stop it. I finally thought you did, under Ba Sing Se, and you turned it against me." She turned her head away from him.

"I'm sorry." He sighed. "I know it must be hard. It took me so long to forgive myself for the things I've done, trust me, and sometimes I still feel like I'm not going to be able to prove myself when the time comes. The Comet." He brought a tentative hand up to her cheek, and though it sent a brief shiver down her spine, she felt herself tense. "I truly am sorry, for everything." He half-stepped forward, and she could see his amber eyes searching her face for betrayal of emotion. She shook her head gently.

"Not everything, Zuko. I can't say I've completely forgiven you, but thank you all the same." She forced an awkward smile, but Zuko caught it, and his head fell closer to hers. She blinked. "Zuko, please, I-"

Her words were smothered quickly by a swift press of his lips against hers. It wasn't invasive, but she pulled backward all the same. He scrambled for something, anything to say. His mouth formed words, but no sound came out.

"I'm sorry, but this isn't real." She frowned, and took another step back.

"I wish it were." She bit back her maternal inhibitions and caught him in a brief hug, but when she pulled away, she walked toward the door. "Katara?"

She stopped.

"Thanks."

_**(A/N: Whew! Okay. I wanted to get another chapter in pretty quick, so this one evaded my beta-reader, but she'll read over it tomorrow, I imagine. Thanks for 1000 hits, everybody, and I'll try for another chapter by tomorrow morning. Wake me up with lots of reviews/faves? All my love, Khepri.)**_


	6. Chapter 6: All Too Clear

_**(A/N: Okay, so, I'm just gonna come on out and say how I feel: HOLY CRAP! I am super-psyched, you have no idea. Over the time I was sleeping, I got another 500 hits on this story,7 reviews and 4 favorites. I know it doesn't seem like much, but its very good for someone as new to FanFiction as I am... Anyway, I have you all to thank for it! I'll try and update as quickly as I can today, maybe get 2 chapters in rather than just 1. Thank you all SO much for all of your charismatic reviews! Again, I'm sorry, but I keep forgetting which chapter tells you who put the mushrooms there, but here it is, straight from my chapter layout: OMG It's the next chapter! Woooooo! Kay. Go review, but please don't yell at me.)**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender, nor do I make profit off it.**

**Chapter 6: Too Clear**

Zuko didn't start the day off feeling so terrible. He went to breakfast greeted with awkward pats on the back and too many questions to answer all at once. He had waved the questions away and sat down with a plate of eggs mixed with what he assumed to be leftover opossum-chicken. He ate the entirety of it, more hungry than he anticipated, but Katara only gave him a brief satisfied smile, and for a moment he forgave her for breaking his heart.

He returned to his room after breakfast was over, but it didn't quite sit well with him. He tried to sleep, but a pain in his gut prevented any such thing. He groaned and tried to turn onto his stomach, but the ache didn't stop. Instead, he meditated. He meditated for as long as he could until he got _really _sick. His bowels rid themselves of breakfast back the way it came in, and when there was nothing else to rid his body of, he vomited _fire_. It was never a pleasant feeling, but he knew that from his youth. He had gotten the flu when he was a kid, only second to the penta-pox that was rumored to have killed one of the sargeants' sons.

A knock on the door shook him from his reverie. He managed to gurgle out something that resembled 'come in', and Toph walked through his door with a scowl.

"Sparky? Uh, are you okay in there?" He shook his head, and another hiccup of fire erupted from his mouth. He swallowed over the uncomfortable and raw feeling in his throat. He was glad she was blind though, as he had taken off his shirt to try and get some sleep.

"Not exactly."

"That doesn't sound good."

"It's not. I'm puking fire." Her eyes widened, and she put a hand on his shoulder.

"Maybe Katara can help you?"

"I don't know, but... I guess its worth a try." His voice sounded alien even to him, too rough from the fire's contact. The trouble was that it formed in his stomach rather than his throat, where the 'breath of fire' came from, so his throat was being burned by this sickness.

"Come on, then. If those mushrooms caused this, then we don't know what else they could do to you."

She grabbed his wrist, then pushed him in front of her. He made his way down the hallway as quickly as he could, but the fire-vomiting forced him to stop every few steps to keep from burning himself. Finally they approached the flat, and his awkward flaming burps caught the attention of the entire group within seconds.

"Wow." Sokka stood, poking at Zuko's throat like the fire would seep out of his skin. Suki stood with him, and Aang pulled a breeze to lift him up from the ground. Katara was the last to stand, he vaguely noticed, and Momo crawled onto his shoulder for a better look at the theatrics. Again, Zuko vomited a lengthy spray of fire to his side, away from the group. Okay, _now _being shirtless was a little unnerving.

"How long has this been going on?" Katara stepped forward, clearly taking responsibility as the only healer in the group. Toph shook her head.

"At least an hour, from what I could hear, maybe more." He nodded, and poked Toph in the shoulder to signal that, yes, it was longer.

"Oh. Other than the obvious, how do you feel?" She turned to Zuko, but he shook his head, and after another unsuppressed flaming hiccup, he cleared his throat, wincing at the pain.

"Not great." _Though you are beginning to seem more like normal Zuko, _he thought with an inward but triumphant smile.

"Okay. Has this happened before?"

"Only when I was little." Chit Sang and Teo started talking, and Aang asked Toph something he didn't hear. Katara stepped out of the circle and past Zuko, and he followed obediently with another hiccup. The rest of the group went back to what they were doing. _Well, at least now you know you're not impeding their group time. _His features fell into a scowl, but he turned to Katara.

"Come on, I'll try and see what's wrong again." She sat a few meters from the fountain, and signaled for Zuko to lay beside her. He did so, and covered his mouth against another hiccup. "Close your eyes." He heard the movement of water, and the cool feeling of it against his skin made his breath catch. Well, it was that, or he hiccuped again. "I can't feel anything out of the ordinary, but- whoa! There's something in your bloodstream, I can't tell what it is, exactly, but its not welcome. Your body is trying to fight it, that's why you're so sick!" The water left his skin. "I'm betting the poison in those mushrooms got into your bloodstream. Who knows what it could do from there!" She sounded surprised, so he opened his eyes. "Keep your eyes closed, I'm going to do all I can to keep you from getting too sick."

He complied, and felt the water against his flesh. She spent the next hour or so trying to heal him as much as she could, but he didn't think she realized her hands repeatedly brushed against him. His face flushed, but she was too busy concentrating to notice it. _Stop it, Zuko, it's all a lie and you damn well know better! _

She pulled her hands away, and after a moment of silence, he sat up. She was sitting back, an elbow rested on her knee so that her hand was free to support her head. Her hair fell like a curtain around her face, and her eyes were closed. She looked like she was in pain.

"Katara?" He put a hand on her shoulder, but she only inhaled sharply through clenched teeth. "What's wrong?" He took his hand away, and sat forward enough to see her jaw clench. She straightened, cerulean eyes forced open, and took a deep breath.

"Zuko." He shifted to sit on his calves. "Sometimes, when I heal people, I can..." she took another breath, and looked him in the eyes. "I can see what caused the injuries. The first thing is obvious: it _was _the mushrooms. The second thing, well, I can see what caused all of this pain." Her eyes betrayed her own pain, but she turned her head. "I'm so sorry, Zuko..."

"Katara, please, you have no need to apologize. It was just like you said. It was only my mind playing tricks on me." She lifted her head back up, but the pain was still present. "None of this is your fault. I deserved what you said to me, every bit of it. When my mother was sent away, I didn't think I could survive. I was so upset, and when you said what you did... Well, I won't lie to you. They felt the same." He averted his own eyes. "I know you had to do it, and I'm not mad or upset anymore. I don't feel," he paused, looking back up to her, "anything." Then, he did what he figured she would least expect from him: he smiled, and pulled her into a friendly hug.

"I'm so sorry I put you through all of this, trust me. I didn't know what came over me, and it felt so natural, I couldn't believe it was just a bunch of stupid mushrooms. I guess I know better now, and I'm sorry for having put you in such an awkward position. I didn't mean to make you, uh, cry the other day. Forgive me?" He pulled away, and searched those same cerulean eyes for anything that would betray her sentiments.

He watched as her eyes shifted from his eyes to the other features of his face, noticeably settling on his scar for a moment (and he felt his cheeks heat uncomfortably) until she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "No worries, Zuko. Just, don't do it again." She gave him a smile and helped him up, where he promptly vomited fire again. "Are you going to be okay?" _Ah, and she changes the subject. _He blinked, glad for a short moment that he _didn't _feel a thing for her.

"I don't exactly feel like a million gold pieces." She yelled for Sokka, and Toph and Aang came running at his side.

"What's going on?" He stepped toward Zuko, his hands in fists. "What did you DO!?" Katara pulled him away by the back of his shirt.

"He didn't do anything! He's still sick though, and I'm worried that he won't recover soon enough to finish teaching Aang." He saw the Avatar frown. "I need you to go into the woods and see if you can find anybody who knows of a way to cure this. If nothing, just go to the nearest market and get more food. After are food storage was broken into, we're low on food." She seemed like she was floundering for an excuse, but Zuko couldn't be sure of much of anything when he couldn't see through the flames spilling out of his mouth. He did, however, hear Sokka groan, then yelp when Toph punched him in the arm.

"Grow up. She's trusting us with an important task, Snoozles, so shut your trap and let's go." The two moved to leave, but Aang stayed.

"Katara, are you sure about this? I don't know about leaving you here alone with, um, alone." He looked down.

"Of course I am. You guys are the only ones I trust to do this. I would go, but I don't think anyone here would survive without me." She gave him a brief smile, and hugged him for a moment before shoving him off toward Sokka and Toph. "Good luck and be safe. Come back if anything happens, okay?" He nodded, and gave Zuko a desperate look. A look that said _Please, don't hurt her. _Then he nodded once to Zuko and sped off.

"Why did you do that?" Zuko asked, raising his good eyebrow, but she crossed her arms.

"How about because you really could be sick, and Aang needs to learn firebending, not fire_barfing_?"

Zuko nodded. "Right. Good point. What's for dinner? Not mushrooms, I hope." He smiled again.

_**(A/N: Ugh. I'm really sorry that took so long to update, but I had an impromptu dental appointment, and I got fillings in 2 little cavities, so I couldn't feel my face for a while. oO Thank you all so much, your compliments really make my day, and knowing that you like the story so much is just amazing, it really is. Also, hooray for the new episode of A:TLA, Southern Raiders! The Zutara Fuzzies in it are amazing. If you haven't seen it, go do it. All my love, forever and always, Khepri.)**_


	7. Chapter 7: Knowledge, Part 1

_**(A/N: Right, so, aside from a few thanks for some very kind reviews, I'd like to apologize for the horrendously long hiatus from writing. Its been a long week, I'll just say that much. I'm so, so sorry. I loved writing this chapter, and the next one, so I hope you all will, too. Thanks!)**_

**Note: My Beta-Reader, Tri17, has just recently read over this chapter and edited it a little, so this is the altered and most recent version of this chapter. Thank you all for your patience with my slight grammatical errors.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender, nor do I make profit off it.**

**Chapter 7: Knowledge, Part 1****  
**

Dinner ended up as a simple type of stir-fry vegetable mix with rice, and though Katara was reasonably satisfied with it, Zuko still wasn't there. He had withdrawn into his room again, making her feel badly. Not only were Aang, Toph and Sokka late, but now she had Zuko to deal with. She collected plates from the few that still remained around the campfire (though it was a rather lame one, being that there were no firebenders around) and set them on the ledge of the fountain to wash later.

She stood, dusting off her old Water Tribe robes, but finally decided that if she was going to look the least bit presentable, she would need to change. Soon enough, she was headed towards the eastern wing of the temple in her stolen Fire Nation clothes, carrying a plate of dinner for Zuko in one hand. The clothes had always made her feel so _revealed_, but there were certain things she didn't mind giving up if it meant keeping her family safe.

_Family. Yes_, she thought, _this is my family. Sokka, Aang, Toph, Teo, Haru, The Duke, Pipsqueak, Hakoda and... _Zuko. She ran a hand through her hair, now loose aside from the standard Fire Nation topknot and her signature hair-loopies. _Zuko is family now. His past is just that: the past. Don't let yourself hate him so much_, she told herself with a frown, _since_ _you have no idea what he's been through._

She finally reached his door, and took a moment to compose herself. She took a deep breath, and brought a hand up to knock once, twice. "Zuko? Can I come in?" She heard a rustling beyond the door, and took a step back. She heard his footsteps, and she straightened her skirt with her free hand. _What are you doing, Katara? Stop being silly_. The door opened.

Zuko had clearly just woken up. His hair was disheveled, his skin had a few red blotches from where he was laying, and he only wore pants. Katara had to avert her eyes to look at her hands in her lap to keep from staring, and she mentally cursed herself for such poor control.

"Katara," he said simply, but bowed stiffly. "What's wrong?" He looked her straight in the eyes, and she found it hard not to return the gesture.

"You didn't come for dinner, so I brought you some." She looked down at the meal she had prepared. "Are you feeling any better?" He shook his head, and she handed him the plate.

"Thank you." He gave her a nod, and for some reason, she was angry.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" She put her hands on her hips, and he turned his head to the side, surveying what she saw to be a reasonably uncluttered room. He shrugged, and stepped aside before opening the door further for her. She gave him a smirk and sat on his bed. "How _are_ you feeling, then?"

"Same as before." He looked to the spot beside her, then to a stool in the corner. He sat himself there, and lay the plate on his lap.

"Do you want another healing session?" He shook his head, picking up the chopsticks to take a bite of one of the vegetables. "Well, what do you want me to do then, Zuko? I _-we- _need you healthy as soon as possible, so that you can continue teaching Aang. He barely knows a thing about redirecting lightning, or whatever it was you were teaching him the other day." She waved a hand in the air, dismissing the notion that yes, she really had been paying attention, and really _did _know what Zuko had been trying to teach Aang.

Zuko put the chopsticks back on the plate, and set it down on the nightstand next to him. He was frowning, and she vaguely was reminded of every time he had hunted her and her family. Her own features fell into the same scowl. "I don't know, Katara. Honestly, I don't need anything. Aside from this," he gestured to the walls, which were now victim of several sooty burns, assumably from his fire-retching, "I feel fine."

Katara sighed, raising an eyebrow. "Come on, Zuko. If it's taken you this long to get better, I have to try something more. Come with me, I have an idea." _I just hope it works_. She stood, ignoring his dropped jaw, and walked through the door. When he didn't follow, she walked back and grabbed his hand, pulling him behind her. "Come on! I want you back to health by the time the rest of the gang arrives." They passed the flat, and she noticed in her peripheral vision that the remnants of said gang were staring at them. Promptly, she dropped Zuko's hand, but she could feel her father's stare on her back. She would have to explain later.

She moved to climb up the vine that led to the ledge above the Temple, but stopped when she realized the predicament. Looking down, she was reminded that she was indeed wearing a skirt. This would pose an interesting problem if she was above Zuko on the rope, so she held an arm out, signaling him in front of her. He flashed a look of confusion and frustration until finally they widened in understanding. One side of her lips lifted in amusement at his lack of composition, but he nodded and continued forward. Within a few moments, they were both at the edge of the canyon, looking down into it. It really was a wonder, she mused, that a people could build their home attached to the underside of such a ledge, and _upside down_.

"Lead the way," Zuko prompted, and Katara shot him a brief glare. She walked ahead of him, head held high, until the low evening sun loomed above their heads in ominous warning of night, peeking ever so slowly over the horizon, and sparkling off of a small lake. Katara had only come across it a few days earlier while scavenging, and kept it as a place for her and only her, until now. _After all_, she assured herself, _Zuko would never lay in the fountain, be it because of his height or his being a Fire Prince. _Disowned, discarded, dismissed Fire Prince, she had to remind herself. He really had nothing else in the world, and the thought made her almost want to hug him. Almost.

"Get in the water." A look of incredulity. "Just do it, smartass." She crossed her arms, watching as he waded into the shallow waters of the crystalline blue lake. "Now lay down. Don't worry, you'll stay afloat," she assured him, taking a relaxed stance to pull an arm into the air, drawing with it a thick spine of water that danced in the air with her own movements. When he was in the water, she pulled at the tie on the side of her skirts, letting them fall onto the sand silently. Beneath it she wore a simple pair of red shorts that went down to her knees. It was helpful in such situations as these, and she appreciated it for what it was. She waded into the water, allowing her moonlight-fueled power push her more quickly to Zuko's side. "Close your eyes," she ordered him before drawing her hands through the water happily.

It was her element. She relished time with it, and enjoyed every moment in its cool, refreshing embrace. It calmed her soul, really, and she didn't know how she had ever lived without it in the deserts of the Earth Nation. He, her enemy for so long, lay in front of her, more vulnerable than she had ever seen him. Suddenly, like running into a the inner wall of Ba Sing Se, she regretted having threatened to kill him the day he came to them. Now, she knew he had changed. To trust her so much as to lay incapacitated, surrounded by her element, with his eyes closed: it had to be rough, especially for ex-royalty of the most powerful nation on the planet. Shaking her head a bit, she put her hands above his body, resting for the longest time just a few inches above his abdomen. Her own eyes closed quickly, and the vision overcame her. Vaguely, she heard herself gasp.

His words ran through her mind with an ugly vengeance. _I_ _need you here with me. Please, don't leave me here, I can't stand not being able to see your beautiful face... Don't worry yourself about me, sweetheart. Are you okay?... You are amazing... I can be everything you want, everything you need. I know this sounds cheesy, but I would do anything for you_, _Katara_. What he had felt, it made her heart ache with a guilt so heavy it made her want to cry, if she could still feel her body. She was gone now, she knew it well. His feelings for her, oh, they felt so genuine. She had felt the same ones in Aang when she had healed him, after the final fight against Azula. She saw, from his own eyes, his own memory of herself. She felt how she made him feel, how he had relished their embraces that morning. Finally, she felt his heart break. She felt his heart shatter for _her_. In the back of her mind, she felt a tear fall down her cheek, and she was brought back into her own body.

_**(A/N: I originally meant for you all to find out who put the mushrooms in their foodstocks in this chapter, but this chapter swept me away in a flurry of Zutara goodness, so I'm stretching it into 2 chapters rather than following word-for-word what I have written in my chapter guide. I am so, so sorry for disappointing any of you, but to make up for it, I'll have the next two chapters out tomorrow. Chapter 8 should be up in about twelve hours, and 9 only a few hours after that. Please, please review! I know that many of you are reading this anonymously, but I'd like to know who you are and what you think, so please just click that cute little blue button in the corner! It will make **__**tomorrow so much brighter, I can assure you that much. Thanks again for reading, and for being so mind-numbingly patient with this plot. All my love, Khepri.)**_


	8. Chapter 8: Knowledge, Part 2

_**(A/N: Hi again, and good morning! I'm sorry, again, for taking so long with this whole thing, but I'll be back on my normal-ish schedule fairly soon. Thanks for sticking by me, guys, and I hope you like this chapter as much as I did. It was harder to write than the first part, but it certainly was worth it. Personally, I think its one of the better chapters in this story. I'll also have you all know that I'm putting my first-ever story on hold for this one's updates, because I just love it so friggin' much! Thanks again.)**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender, nor do I make profit off it.**

1**Chapter 8****: Knowledge, Part 2**

The water around Zuko's body was steaming, and she felt warm. Too warm, it was like a sauna, but she knew she was the root cause of it. His eyes were still closed, but a silent look of frustration had taken over his features. Coating her hands in the water beside her, she raised them again. The heel of one palm to Zuko's forehead; the tips of her fingers of her other hand to his sternum, the center of his chest. Her eyelids fluttered closed, and she concentrated as hard as she could without allowing herself to be swallowed by his pain.

Beneath the lingering emotional pain that was her own doing, (_he remembers it entirely_, she felt herself thinking) she found the poison in his veins, the foreign substance coursing through every part of his body. _How many of those damned mushrooms did he eat!? _She pulled as much of it as she could from his body, through his mouth, letting the ugly gray fluid dissolve into the lake at a flick of her fingers. It was as much as she could do, but it wouldn't cure him completely. He would no longer vomit fire, she knew, but his appetite and behavior would not entirely return to normal until the rest of the poison left his body; a few days, she ventured.

He sat up with a jolt, which startled her, caused her to let go of the water beneath him, and he fell completely into the water with a brief splash and a gurgle. She pulled him up as quickly as she could, standing him on two feet again. She found that looking him in the face made her heart tense with the newfound guilt. It wasn't her fault, she remembered, but the fault of the mushrooms he had eaten. _But you could have handled it differently rather than running away, and you damned well know it. _Zukocoughed and sputtered ungracefully, clutching a hand to his mouth to see what was making him cough. "I managed to take some of the poison out, Zuko, but not all of it." He blinked at another small bit of the dirty gray substance he coughed up, then looked at her.

"When will this be through with me?" His wording made her recoil a bit, but she shook her head.

"I don't know. How do you feel?" He laughed, a cold and steely sound that differed so much from the few laughs she heard from him at the gang's campfire conversations.

"Aside from the coughing and an empty feeling in my gut, I feel a little better." She couldn't exactly figure whether he meant he was hungry, or he still felt the heartbreak.

"Good, that's great to hear. We should head back. I certainly hope the gang didn't try to cook themselves anything too complicated!" She laughed, stepping out of the water to wring her hair out. She could have bent the water out of it, but it always left her hair over-dry and poofy. This way, it would only be wavy when it dried. The moonlight shone onto her skin, and made her feel like she hadn't seen what she did. She picked up her skirt, wrapped it around her again before tying it, and led Zuko back to the temple. It was well before midnight when they got back, she could tell from the position of the moon in the sky, and everyone was assumably asleep in their chambers. When they reached the flat, she stopped, and Zuko turned around to face her.

"Thank you." It was simple and late, but she happily accepted it with a nod and a smile before taking a step forward. His eyebrow twitched, but she pretended not to notice.

"You are always welcome." She canted her head to the side, smile still present on her lips, and paused before pulling him into another impromptu embrace. His arms lifted at his sides in surprise, but soon rested on her shoulders as she felt his abdomen relax. He was the first to pull away, and she felt her body missing his warmth._ I'm just cold._

"Good night, Katara." He gave her a nod, and walked toward the eastern wing after a short second of hesitation. She took it to mean that yes, he still wanted her as much as he did then, but remembered his place, her place, the gang, her father, Sokka, and everything else in the world that she imagined he would have been mulling over those few days in his room. She watched him leave.

Behind her, someone cleared their throat. She turned, eyes wide, to face Hakoda. Now, she knew, they would talk. "Welcome back," he said, knowledge dripping from his words like sap, catching on the tension before dissipating into the air. It felt colder now. She shivered.

"Dad, I just-"

"You went to heal him. I know you well enough, Katara, to know where you'd gone." He paused, looking her over with endless cerulean eyes, constantly judging; evaluating. She swallowed her pride, and it sank down her throat like a marble.

"I'm sorry, I should have-"

"Yes!" he yelled, his voice gritty from lack of sleep. "You damned well should have said something, anything to anyone! What if you two had been attacked? What if _he_," Hakoda said this with venom, "had done something to you? Hm?" She was silent. "What if something had happened here? What would you have done? Would you feel guilty then?"

She knew all too well what this was. This was her father taking advantage of so much time away from her, using it against her at the first moment she did anything wrong, anything out of the ordinary. She recoiled visibly, and shook her head stiffly.

"No, no, I didn't mean anything! I wouldn't have stayed longer than necessary, you know I wouldn't have. I had to do what I had to do, please listen to me, I had to!" She felt unclean, pleading to him like this, but it was the only way to get his attention. "I'm so, so sorry for leaving you alone, but I knew you could take care of these boys! I had to heal him, Dad! I had to! You have no idea, really, but please believe me." She was referring to having seen what made Zuko behave the way he did, but Hakoda would never know this. "You know I would never forgive myself if anything happened to any of you, but I knew you would do the right thing." She felt too motherly, talking to her own father like he was a child. It sent tears to her eyes, memories of her mother swimming through her thoughts. Her next few sentiments were smothered by them, strangled by the tears that rolled down her face. He pulled her into his arms, leaning his head against her own and breathing in deeply. He had feared for her, that was all.

"I know, I'm sorry. I had just been so worried, so scared, for you, I didn't want anything," he pulled away, but brought a hand to her chin to bring her gaze to meet his, "_anything_ to happen to you." She knew what he meant by this, of course. "I couldn't bear to lose you like I did your mother, please understand." She nodded, and hugged him again before he pried her off gently. "Go to sleep, Katara. I'll see you in the morning." She nodded, and wiped a tear from her cheekbone before turning away. "I love you," she heard from behind her.

"I love you too," she replied, turning her head to face him. "You should get some sleep too, Dad." She gave him a brief smile, and headed again to her quarters. Sleep that night came easily, but morning came far too soon. A knock at her door jolted her from her dreaming, and she heard Toph knocking incessantly at the door, yelling something incomprehensible and stomping her feet like a horrible monkey. She stood, her mind still slow and groggy from only having had a small bit of sleep, and groaned. "Hold on!" She pulled her Fire Nation clothes back on over her under-wrappings that she slept in, and pulled the door open. Disturbing her would not go unpunished. "What?" Katara spat, trying not to imagine what she looked like, though she was slightly relieved to see that it was only Toph at her door.

"We couldn't find anyone suspicious- but we did find this _guy_ camped out a few kilometers away, but he doesn't seem to know anything about any mushrooms, though he does know a few of us in the gang." Katara's jaw dropped, and she struggled to figure it out. At a loss, she put her hands on the Earth Bender's shoulders.

"Who is it? Tell me, please!"

"Relax, Sugar Queen. Come on, I'll show you. You might recognize him."

_**(A/N: OH-JEEZ! A cliffie! Thanks for sticking through, guys, you'll find out at the beginning of the next chapter who it is! The first person to guess who it is gets a cyber-cookie and a mention in Chapter 9. Review, review, review! All my love, Khepri.)**_


	9. Chapter 9: Reunion

_**(A/N: Hello! :D I'm very happy. In the ten minutes after I posted chapter 8, I received 2 comments, one of which predicted the 'unexpected' visitor. Congratulations to ktsvillefan, who gets a cyber-cookie! Yay for you! And, as always, my thanks go out to those of you who saw fit to review. I'll be responding to your reviews in the story itself, just because I want to. :P Read on, dear (uh) readers!)**_

**Note: this chapter has also been recently altered, with the help of Tri17 again. Thank you for your continual and reliable assistance!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender, nor do I make profit off it.**

**Chapter 9: Reunion  
**

"For Agni's sake, what is it!?" Zuko threw something at the wall, but he didn't notice what. He hoped, in the back of his mind, that it wasn't something he would regret having thrown. The door creaked open and Katara stuck her head through the opening. She looked around, then to him.

"Hi, Zuko," she said, attempting a half-hearted smile. He hoped she wouldn't notice his late efforts to clean himself up a bit. He was up now, darting to the door in an instant.

"What is it?" She had woken him up again, and even though he had slept for most of the day (Uncle always said that sleep was the body's way of healing), it was still frustrating. He watched her eyes shift to the book that he had thrown at the door in his anger, then back to his face. Her features fell into a look of apology, but she stepped in, leaving the door open. She would probably expect him to go somewhere again, but who was he to decline a woman, not to mention one as powerful as Katara? He relaxed his posture.

"We, uh, have a visitor. He asked for you." Her head lifted at the last word, and her eyes met his. Who would they have found that would ask for him, the disowned Prince of the Fire Nation? Who would know that he had gone to find the Avatar, know to look for them at the Western Air Temple? "Come on, we shouldn't keep him waiting." She smiled again, and she grabbed his wrist, turning to the door again. He followed obediently, (ignoring the cool chill of her fingers against his skin), not one to decline a woman with so much power. _Oh, but opposites attract, Zuko. Water and Fire, right? _These thoughts, feelings, they weren't welcome. Not since she had broken his heart, ripped it from his chest like the witch he knew he should see her as. He couldn't, though, and he knew it well. It was all the fault of the poison in those mushrooms, of course.

She led him through the wing, making their way toward the fountain until Katara stopped, letting go of his wrist, and turned. She looked him over, a determined look that took over her features, and shook her head. She straightened the shirt and vest he had thrown on before she dragged him out of his room, and took a step back, seemingly satisfied with her work. What was she doing now? She had taken a step forward, and was reaching a hand toward his face. He was vaguely reminded of the moment they had shared under Ba Sing Se, the final time he would have betrayed them. Everything he believed had been all wrong, and he gave up so much for those sick fantasies of home.

Katara's hand reached upward, then, brushing against his forehead as she bushed his hair out of his eyes. What was she doing, and why? He couldn't help it, but his heart quickened, and he leant ever-so-slightly forward. She noticed this, and pulled her hand away, turning back around to walk into the flat. Had she been blushing? _No, _he thought, _just a trick of the light. _Of course it was! What else would it have been?

He followed again, though her grip on his wrist was relinquished, only because his curiosity had been sparked by her cryptic words. Why she was waiting, he didn't know, but the gentle sway of her hips as she walked was hypnotizing enough to tempt him forward, like elephantcat-nip, he mused. When did she get such womanly curves, he wondered? Surely they were new since they had fought at the Northern Water Tribe. He did manage to tear his eyes away from her frame before they had reached the flat.

"Zuko!" Aang screeched, hopping up from his seat on the ledge of the fountain with a boost from his airbending. He landed gracefully on, what was it? An Air Scooter, he called it. He wheeled behind the young firebender and pushed Zuko forward, an impressive display of the power he could summon by a simple breeze. It propelled him forward, into the dispersed group, though their attention was held by someone that sat against the wall of the same fountain. Sokka and Suki were laughing, though at what he didn't know, and Katara had a proud look on her face as she sat down, watching Zuko intently. _Probably trying to surprise me_, he thought. Haru, Hakoda and Teo had cups of tea in their hands, and were chatting amongst themselves (though Hakoda snuck fatherly glances at his daughter, then to Zuko as if he were suspicious of something), and The Duke and Pipsqueak were flat on their stomachs, pounding on the ground with their fists as they laughed riotously. Just _what_ was so damned funny? Aang continued to push him forward, and over Suki's head, he could see their visitor. Zuko's jaw dropped.

"_UNCLE!?_"

He was sitting cross-legged, beside a cheerful looking Toph, serving tea to the earthbender while telling one of his terrible jokes. _How ironic, _he thought. _He's telling the same joke you tried to tell them on your first night here. _"…I'm _bushed!_" The group burst out in obnoxious cackles that made him almost angry that Iroh had shown up so out-of-the-blue.

"Oh, hey Jerkbender!" Sokka called, waving him over happily. "We found this guy, your uncle, camped out about a day's walk away. He's so cool!" he swooned, taking another sip of tea- it smelled like ginger tea, one of Uncle's favorites. Katara, at his left, nodded.

"He made some tea for us and has been telling everyone jokes for a short while. He certainly has settled in quite well already, don't you think, Aang?"

"Yeah! His jokes sure are better than yours, Zuko." He fumed silently, but was unable to keep the thoughts of his betrayal from his mind. He knelt on the floor, his head bowed, and fought to keep control of his emotions. He heard Iroh stand, curiously without the 'oof' that usually accompanied such movements for the old man, and he raised his head. His uncle's smile had faded.

"Stand, nephew," he said quietly, offering a hand to support him. Zuko didn't move.

"I betrayed you, uncle. I will never forgive myself for wronging you," he said, his voice faltering towards the end of it. "I should have listened to you, I know it now. I've found my place, you see?" He glanced to Aang, to Katara, to Toph and Sokka. "I know I've done so many things wrong, hurt," he paused for a moment, wondering if this was the right word, "so many people. I'd been caught up in the stupid fantasies that Ozai put in my head." He put emphasis on Ozai- he would never be Zuko's father again. _Never. _"Please, forgive me, Uncle. I know you probably hate me, but I've found-"

Iroh knelt beside his nephew, putting a well-worn hand on Zuko's shoulder. "I've never hated you, Zuko, and I never will. I have only feared that you," he looked him in the eye now, the kind wisdom reflected in his bronze irises, "had lost your way. I can see, now, that you have chosen the right path. I am so proud of you, you know. I've always considered you-"

"No, Uncle, you don't have to say it," Zuko pleaded.

"I've always considered you like a son." He fought the ominous tears that stung at his eye, but a single one fell, sliding hideously slowly down the unscarred side of his face. _Whimpering little coward, _he thought, wiping it away in a swift move that he covered up by pulling Iroh into a grateful and well-timed hug. The older man chuckled warmly, and embraced his nephew briefly before standing himself up and pulling Zuko along. He was horrified to see the entire gang staring wide-eyed at him, and his emotional display. He shot them a venomous glare, but turned back to his Uncle.

"It's good to see you again." Iroh laughed again, a deep, rumbling sound that came from deep in his gut. "Did you lose weight?" He stopped laughing.

"I had to lose it to escape from the Fire Nation."

"How did you escape?"

"I'll explain everything later. For now, I'm quite hungry. Do you have any food?"

"Of course. Follow me." Zuko led him away from the group, though they seemed sad to see him leave, and toward the foodstocks. His uncle reached toward the bag of mushrooms, but he swatted his hand away and picked up the sack. "You don't want to eat those," he said sharply. "They're very poisonous. I've been sick for the last few days."

"Oh! Is anyone else sick?"

"No, it was just me, but most of the poison is out of my system by now."

"I see. What did they look like?"

"They were small and grey, I guess. Why?"

"Oh, dear. Those were Death Cap mushrooms, known for causing deadly illnesses in Fire Nation children. It would not have killed you, but it may still be a few days until you are completely better." Zuko nodded.

"That's what Katara said, too."

"Katara? Is this a _girl_?" Zuko blushed furiously and spluttered for an explanation.

"Guh- yes, but- she is just-" He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment. "Yes, uncle, she is a girl. She is also a Master waterbender, Aang's waterbender." He thought back to the way he had seen Aang look at her, and he frowned. "The Avatar's waterbender," he responded to Iroh's look of confusion.

"Ah. Do you… _like _this girl?"

"Uncle!" He struck his forehead with the heel of his palm.

"Curiosity, nephew, but…" he paused to smirk deviously. "You didn't say you didn't like her." Zuko groaned.

"She's Water Tribe, Uncle! Stop talking, please." The last words he pleaded, and Iroh's eyes softened.

"I see. No matter. Do you have any red bean cakes?" he asked, shifting his attention to the poorly-stocked cabinet.

"No. We have only what we scavenge for, and the few supplies from neighboring villages that we can afford to venture to."

"Ah. What about…" He spent the rest of the afternoon searching for some of his favorite treats, settling for some simple noodles when he finally realized that he would have to do without the luxuries of the Fire Nation until the war was over. Zuko was happy, though, that he could once again spend time with the only father-figure, the only parental figure he had ever really had.

"Uncle?" he asked, and Iroh lifted his head away from the bowl, slurping a noodle between his lips as he did so.

"Yes, Zuko?"

"How long will you stay?" Iroh responded with a shrug of his shoulders, and went back to eating. "The Avatar, Aang," he corrected himself, "will need more training in fire bending, and you are much more powerful than I am. He will learn more if you taught him, uncle." Perhaps using the world's only hope of survival against him would prove worthwhile.

"I suppose I can stay until the day of the comet. I will not fight with you," he said, obviously meaning the group as a whole, "but I will get you to the palace the best I can." He flashed a goofy, noodle-filled smile, and went back to his lunch.

Zuko nodded. "Thank you." Iroh would surely understand that he really just wanted him here for moral support, and didn't care one way or another if he taught the Avatar. After all, his uncle always knew just about everything, didn't he? "I have another question."

"Nnh?" Apparently, speaking while eating rice noodles proved harder than Zuko would have thought.

"Why were you camped so close to the Temple?"

"I had to make sure you were back on the right path." Zuko nodded again.

"Ah, I'm just curious, did you see any criminals or suspicious characters on the path? Those mushrooms were planted here, Uncle, someone was trying to poison the Avatar. They also took some of our food." He didn't miss his uncle's broad smile, though he soon let it fall back into seriousness.

"Hm. No, no I didn't." Another smile.

—Avatar: The Last Airbender**—**

Zuko sat up with a jolt, having been woken by a noisy crash from the other end of the Temple. He stood quickly, pulling his shirt over his head before darting out the door and towards the origin of the sound. It was the foodstocks again! He stepped into a fighting stance when he heard rustling in the back of the food closet, and waited for the thief to come out. Surprise would be his ally tonight.

And, indeed, Uncle Iroh was surprised. He dropped the bowl of dried fish onto the floor, and fumbled for it. Zuko relaxed, standing again.

"What are you _doing _uncle?"

"I, uh… I was hungry again," he said with a smile. It was, after all, typical of him.

"Oh, I see." Loud footsteps sounded behind him, and he turned. Toph was running toward them, Aang, Sokka and Katara trailing close behind. He shook his head to them, and crossed his arms. "It was only my uncle, getting a midnight snack." Katara stepped forward.

"But how did you get in there? I had Teo make another lock," she added with a glance to Zuko.

"Oh, I fire bent the mechanism, I hope you do not mind." He smiled sheepishly, taking a bite of the fish. "This fish is delicious! What herbs did you use?" Katara pulled him off to the side, and began explaining it. _Dear Agni- Uncle _was_ a master of diplomacy. _Zuko turned to Toph after watching Sokka and Aang nod once and leave to go back to sleep. They had been out all day, bringing Iroh back to the Temple, so he didn't blame them. Why was Toph still here, then, if they were so tired?

"Zuko, I think he's the thief!" she whispered conspiratorially, a foot turned toward the old man as if, had she been able to see, she would be watching him in her peripheral vision.

He laughed. "Why would he be the-" His eyes widened in the dawn of realization.

"I didn't hear footsteps. Again."

"Well, he _is _very light on his feet, when he wants to be." He remembered what he saw that night, when Toph had woken him, saying there was someone there. _The door to the pantry was wide open, and the mechanism on the tiny lock (that Teo had put together for Katara, in order to avoid late-night snacking) had been melted from the inside. It was stealthily done…_

"A thief?" asked his uncle, suddenly by his side. "Yes, I was woken by the sound of footsteps by my room, and, uh, I got up to see who it was, but I didn't see anyone so I figured I'd help myself." He smiled again, the same sheepish grin, and shrugged. "I'll be going to bed then. Good night, Zuko, Miss Katara, Miss Toph." He bowed out, scrambling to his quarters without the remains of fish he had taken.

"He was lying," Toph said quietly.

"I could tell." Zuko frowned, pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand again. _But why would his own uncle try to poison him? _But he knew that the poison wouldn't kill him. Maybe he knew what they would do, what they would make him feel…

Uncle had been meddling again!

"_Dammit!_"

_**(A/N: I tried to make this chapter a bit longer than the others, just for update's sake, I suppose. Also, below this Author's Note, I'll be responding to your reviews. Any questions any of you might have, feel free to ask me and I'll respond here! The more reviews, the better. As usual, all my love, Khepri. **__**PS: The next chapter, entitled Relative Normalcy, won't be up for a while.**__** I'm going to CrueFest here in Phoenix tomorrow, and then I've got a birthday party on Friday. I leave for my Dad's house in the northeast on Saturday, so I won't be able to update until, I imagine, Monday. I'll try and write a little on the flight, but I can't promise anything. Another cookie to whomever can guess what age I'll be turning on Friday, okay guys? Thanks again for your patience!)  
**_

**Pepipanda: ****Thank you! I figured I should insert the 'overprotective parent' situation. You'll never know who did it! MUAHAHAHA! :D Haha, just kidding, you already know by now, I'm certain. Does it all make sense now? Silly, Uncle Iroh!  
****Ktsvillefan****: Woo! You win, indeed. Kudos on having figured it out! I hope everything makes sense, and fits properly with the plot. Thank you!  
****SushiRamesh:**** Not so terrible as Azula, I certainly hope! I am quite terrible though, for having made you wait so friggin' long for the updates. I'm glad you're enjoying the story, and I do apologize for the cliffie, but I had to do it to keep your attention. It worked, didn't it?  
****BrokenAvenger21:** **You'll never know… Muahaha! Really, though, its up to you. The poison is dwindling, in case that wasn't obvious to you, but the fact of his feelings for Katara has been realized with its help. I do try for perfect grammar, otherwise my English teacher would kill me in my sleep. Anyway, I hope this chapter cleared up any confusion you might have had. You aren't the only one to ask this, of course. Perhaps I'll try and make the next chapters less, ah, cryptic.  
****Babu's BFF:**** You're right! Yay! Ktsvillefan said it first though, but you can still have a cyber-cookie! Woooo! :D OMG.**


	10. Chapter 10: Relative Normalcy

_**(A/N: Aaah! I am so so so so so sorry this took so freaking long to update… School started a month ago and, what with the IB classes and homework load, its been tough. The updates will be few and far between from now on, but hopefully they'll be longer, too. Thanks again for your consistent reads/reviews, and I hope you stick around! I love hearing from you. LOVE it. Also, I meant to have the second part of this chapter be an entirely separate chapter called 'Warm', but I epic failed, so you all get a two-in-one jackpot! Woo! Now I have to figure out the next chapter... Bah!)**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender, nor do I make profit off it.**

**Chapter 10:**** Relative Normalcy**

Zuko stormed off, grunting and throwing his fists in the air angrily. Katara poked Toph, who just smiled.

"Relax, Sugar Queen, he's just angry 'cause his uncle ate like half our food supply," the earthbender snickered, "and put those mushrooms in there."

"WHAT!?"

"Yeah, I dunno, Katara. You should ask Gramps about it." Katara nodded. _How strange! Why would General Iroh place those mushrooms in our food supply, especially knowing that no one would eat them but Zuko?_

Katara sighed and shook her head. She feared she would never know what went on in Zuko's family, that is, if she really wanted to know. She and Toph walked back to the fountain flat together, where they split ways. The earthbender went back to her room to sleep until dawn broke, and Katara stayed in the makeshift kitchen to cook breakfast. She scrounged a few pea-potatoes and turkey-goose eggs for the gang, and an over-ripened FireDragon fruit for Aang. She was about to start cooking the eggs when Iroh's footsteps sounded across the hall.

"Good morning, Uncle," she said quaintly, breaking an egg and letting its yolk drop into the pan.

"Good morning, Miss Katara," he responded tiredly.

"Are you alright? You seem kind of down."

"Oh, ah, I'm fine. Zuko and I just had a long talk, that's all. Do you mind if I make some tea?" He waved a hand toward the burnt out campfire. She shook her head and leant down, pulling out an old teapot. She extended it to him, but did not let it go when he placed his hands around it.

"I have a question, if you don't mind, before you do that." Iroh nodded. "Why did you make Zuko sick?"

Iroh sighed (which lead into a half-yawn) and scratched at his ear. "Well," he started, avoiding Katara's gaze entirely, "my nephew is very complicated." To this, Katara nodded profusely. "He's been on his own for quite a while, and has been under a lot of pressure. He needs someone to look over him, to watch out for him and care for him when I am not around. Do you understand?" Katara narrowed her eyes, but nodded slowly. "Good then. I've always seen friendship as a relationship, be it good or bad, that lasts through all time, no matter what. According to this, you and my nephew have been good friends since the Avatar was awakened."

Katara canted her head to the side. "What are you getting at, old man?"

_Spirits, she certainly behaved like Zuko when it came down to it. _"My nephew, my son, he has a connection with you that he lacks with the rest of your group. You seem like a very smart girl, and I thought you would be the best one among your group to trust with his wellbeing." He sat down on the floor, crossing his legs, and pulled out a white lotus tile. He flipped it over his knuckles. "I've known for quite a while that the two of you had… _something _going on, I've just waited until now to do anything. Does that make sense?"

Katara, whose jaw had dropped and whose eyes were now wide with shock, was only able to respond with a dull 'guh'.

"All right, I can accept that. Those mushrooms… in adults, or in this case young adults, bring out the hidden desires, the secret wishes, of those who eat them. Your own wishes would be better off free," the retired general hinted mysteriously, pulling the tea kettle from her slacked fingers. Her jaw dropped again.

—Avatar: The Last Airbender**—**

When Katara had finally composed herself and finished breakfast, one-by-one the gang would grab their earthenware dishes and sit clear at the other side of the hall, Sokka, Aang, Toph, Hakoda and Suki all watching her intently. The rest of the gang seemed uninterested, more focused on Iroh's war stories than on anything else. When Zuko walked in, the room seemed to shift, and he was at the center of it. Katara would have been blind not to notice that Zuko ignored her entirely: instead, he sat by himself on the ledge by the southern wing. She huffed, and grabbed her own plate, sitting down beside her brother without a word. They watched Zuko now, silent as ever, Sokka being the only one to bother actually eating anything. Even now he managed to get his food all over himself! She laughed.

Again, the focus of the room shifted: this time, back to her. She sighed.

"Come on, guys, what's going on?" she pressed, setting her plate on the ground beside her. She leant forward.

Aang shook his head.

Toph sniffed.

Hakoda blinked.

Sokka shrugged.

Suki stood, put her plate atop Katara's, and walked away.

"We're getting low on firewood," Iroh's voice sounded from a few feet behind her. Aang nodded, and Sokka cracked his neck to the side. "We should send someone out to get some."

"Sorry, Gramps, but Aang has to practice his bending today. I'm trying to teach him metalbending," she said with a shrug.

"Uh, yeah, Suki and I are gonna be busy today. Y-you know, uh, feeding Appa," he stuttered, his gaze sliding back over to his girlfriend, who blushed furiously and stomped on the ground. She grabbed his arm and trotted out of the main.

"I'll be scavenging today, I'm afraid, Iroh," said Hakoda.

"That's fine," said Iroh, a wise smile playing on his lips. "Katara and Zuko should go." _At least he's not being too inconspicuous, _she thought bitterly. Zuko, who was still seated with his legs over the edge of the canyon, was suddenly up and standing beside her. "Well, think about it, nephew. I know we talked earlier, but still. It's the middle of the summer, and there'll be very little water out in the woods, so if something were to happen, she would be defenseless. If you were to go alone, we would never know what happened, and there would be no one there to help. You see?"

The two bobbed their heads, but avoided looking at each other.

"Good, now go, but be back before dark." He winked at Katara, and patted Zuko on the back. "Be good." He left without finishing his meal, and skipped a bit on his way back. _It's never too early to think about grandchildren,_ he thought deviously.

Katara looked up. Zuko's features were set, and his teeth were ground against each other. She stood. "Uh…" She didn't know what to _say_! What was there to say? _'Hi, Zuko. I've just found out that you really do like me that much, and now we're to spend the entire afternoon ignoring each other. Sounds like fun!'_

"Just…" Zuko sighed. "Just wait here, I've got to get something." Katara did as he asked, standing there, under the watchful eyes of her father, her best friends, and the rest of the gang. She fingered her necklace nervously, eyes focused on something particularly uninteresting at the ground.

"Let's go," a tired voice demanded. She nodded and followed close behind him.

—Avatar: The Last Airbender**—**

It had been at least three hours. There was nothing actually close to the Western Air Temple, spare a dirty, slow little creek and a few grazing emu-bison, but they continued moving southward. Neither had spoken a word after they left the temple, and Katara was growing tired.

"Zuko." He stopped, and turned around. His eyes were glazed as if his thoughts were too far away to fathom, and had turned a fierce gold color. "I-I th-thin-think…" She sighed. "Ithinkweshouldstopforabit," she blurted.

Zuko nodded, motioning to the ground for her to sit. She was angry at this, but why, she couldn't exactly say. She did sit, though, and pulled out a small sack of food from her pocket. She had remembered from the last time one of the gang had gone to get firewood that it was a long way away, so she packed a small meal for both herself and Zuko.

"What's that?" He sat down beside her.

"Hog-rooster sandwich on rye," she said, handing him a rice-paper wrapped lump.

"Um, thanks," he mumbled, unwrapping the package slowly. For a moment she watched him eat, and she felt an odd pride that she had been the one to feed him. His groan of happiness when he had finished made her heart swell, so she handed him her sandwich. He gave her a look, but she shrugged, and pushed it at his chest.

"Go on. I'm not that hungry, really, you eat it." She smiled shyly, forcing herself to look away when he smiled back. Her toes tingled a little, and it frightened her. After a moment, he handed her the unfinished half of her sandwich, and after having seen the satisfied look on his face, she couldn't help but oblige him in eating the rest of her own meal. It was better than she had expected it would be, but a bit too spicy for her. She fanned at her tongue when she was finished, and he gave her a confused look.

"Too thpithy," she lisped, and laughed at herself a bit. He pulled a calfskin of water from his side and handed it to her. She took it gratefully and took a greedy swig, handing it back only when she had a very satisfied smile on her own face.

"You don't like spicy food?"

She shook her head. "We don't have peppers at the South Pole," she said with a shrug.

"How come you put them in the sandwiches then?"

"Um, well, I figured, being Fire Nation, you would like them…" she scratched at the back of her neck self-consciously.

"I do," he said simply. After a moment, he looked back over to her. "Thank you, Katara."

She smiled to him and nodded. "You're welcome." She yawned.

"Are you tired?"

"Yes. After what happened last night, I'm afraid I didn't get much sleep." **A/N: That's what she said.**

"You should take a nap. When it's this hot outside, you could get heat exhaustion if you work yourself too hard."

"What about you? You stayed up to talk to your uncle, you must be very tired."

"Yes, but I can't get heat exhaustion. I _am _heat," he said simply, his glance shifting to a rock at his left leg.

"Oh, right," she amended. "You'll take a nap with me, then, won't you? I mean, as long as we're both stopped anyway."

"Well, I was going to see if I could find the closest way to some campfire wood, but a nap does sound good…" he yawned then, and chuckled. "Yeah, okay, it sounds really good."

Katara giggled. "The sun," she pointed. "It's setting." Zuko nodded. "And it's starting to get cold," she hinted.

"It is? I hadn't noticed." She nodded.

"I guess we lost track of the time while we were walking… But, uhm, I didn't bring a jacket with me," she admitted. She watched Zuko's eyes as they wandered over her outfit: the cropped top and cutoff skirt of her fire nation uniform did little to keep her warm. Under his gaze, though, her skin heated quickly. She hoped that the red tint of the setting sun would hide her blush.

"Neither did I," Zuko said with a chuckle. For the first time that day, she noticed that Zuko hadn't gotten fully dressed. He was wearing a pair of pants that tied at his calves, and nothing more. In fact, at the angle at which he sat, she could just make out the tiny black hairs that, starting just at his naval, led down into his pants. She blushed again, and cleared her throat.

"Maybe we should go back."

"No, we still need firewood. There's enough to last them for tonight and for food tomorrow, but we'll need more for a campfire for tomorrow night."

"Okay, I guess we'll continue on tomorrow." Zuko nodded.

"If you get too cold…" his words dropped off.

"What?"

"Well, you can always sleep with me," he said softly. Katara gulped and took a sharp intake of air through her teeth. "I-I mean, since I'm a firebender, my inner fire always keeps me warm, so if you lay with me- I mean if you lay next to me, I can keep you warm…" He scratched at the back of his neck, biting his lip nervously though he looked away.

Katara shivered. His comment had made her colder, if anything. He _had_ been warm, though, she remembered from when she hugged him a while back. Even so, the muscular planes of his chest seemed strangely inviting. She pictured them to be like iron wrapped in silk to the touch, as she had the urge to run her fingers over him, let them linger in the dips of his defined muscles. She blushed again. "Um, okay… but no funny stuff, you got that?" She put a hand on the left side of his face and moved it so he looked her in the eyes. _His skin _is_ warm…_

"Y-yes," he gulped. "Got it." Zuko lay on his back, his head inclined to the sky as he watched the moon with amber eyes. Katara watched him for a moment, but soon shifted onto her knees to crawl toward him. His gaze drifted back to her, and he watched as she made her way to his side. She pulled her hair out of the topknot and pulled her hair loopies out, taking her sandals off and setting them aside. She snuggled, then, between his arm and the side of his chest, laying on her back though her head rested on his shoulder, turned away from him. After she had stopped moving, she spoke.

"Thank you, Zuko," she said softly, and yawned a bit. He shifted a bit, turning his body sideways so that he lay on his hip, and the crook of his elbow lay beneath her head. She groggily reached her hands up to his and nuzzled her head into the scarred but still soft and, of course, warm skin of his arm. After a few moments, she felt his free hand stroke her hair softly, his fingers intertwining with her loosened tresses as he made lazy patterns on the back of her neck. She shivered, and he shifted closer, his body now flush beside hers. After another few moments, he tilted his head toward hers, but then lay still until her breathing evened.

"Thank _you_," he whispered, and nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck before falling asleep. She smiled to herself and relished the contact of skin on skin, the even puffs of hot air his breath brought to her goose-bumped flesh. She fell asleep soon after, and dreamt of turtle-ducks and an almost overwhelming peace. She did not want to wake up…

**The sound of elk-bat hooves did that **_**for**_** her.**

**_(A/N: Thank you for reading! Now please, please, PLEASE press that cute little button at your bottom left-hand corner, you know, the one that says 'Submit Review'? Yes! That one! CLICK IT! I won't post the next chapter until I have, say, 10 reviews for this one. You can do it! I KNOW you can! :D All my love, Khepri.)_**


	11. Chapter 11: Running For Their Lives

(A/N: Another chapter up, my dears

_**(A/N: Another chapter up, my dears! I'm very proud of myself, though my mother certainly wouldn't be, if she knew I were writing fanfiction rather than doing my Biology homework… Hah! Anyway, a spark of creativity fueled my muse for a while after I uploaded chapter 10, so here's 11! Please review when you're done, I love knowing what you think, and if I'm doing anything wrong.)**_

**Disclaimer:****I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender, nor do I make profit off it.**

**Chapter 11:**** For Their Lives**

Zuko woke with a start. It was a shame, really. The first morning he was to awake with a woman in his arms, and he'd only be pulled up and away from her. She had already woken, of course, and had simply clung to him as if he were her only way of staying there, alive. Dark elk-bats, he could see from the almost transparent wings folded on the exotic creatures' backs. Lovely, he thought as he was thrown up and across one of the saddles. His hands were bound behind his back by familiar rock gloves, and the pommel of the saddle he had been tossed upon was now digging into his ribs. He only grunted, and kicked his legs out behind him. His feet connected with something solid, too solid, and he heard something hit the ground. He had kicked one of his captors off his saddle and onto the ground! His victory was short-lived when he saw the same hooded man pull Katara, who had been pinned to the ground by another of the men, into his arms where a dagger awaited her. He poked her neck with it, and Zuko thrashed again.

A deep, gravelly voice spoke from inside the hood. "Still yourself," it demanded, "or I will rid the world of your pretty little girlfriend." It snickered.

"Get your filthy hands off her," he growled, unable to keep himself from kicking again, only to make contact with something slightly more soft. The elk-bat reared, tossing its head back and extending its boned wings, and bit his ankle. Zuko cried out, but kicked the creature again. It didn't bite him again, but kicked the creature he had been thrown onto.

"Fine, that's how this is going to be then, eh?" the stranger drawled, drawing his dagger across Katara's throat lightly. She flinched back, but the damage had already been done. A single line of blood had been drawn, and collected at one side before dripping down and into the dip of her collarbone. Zuko gasped, but Katara screamed. He kicked a burst of flame at the elk-bat beside him, and it jumped forward- his own elk-bat reared back and he was thrown off its shoulder and onto the ground. His captor jumped out of the way just in time, and Katara fell forward onto the heels of her hands.

"Get up, Katara! He's behind you!"

It was at that point that he began to realize it: he was fighting for _both_ their lives, unless she could come up with a quick source of water. _Aha!_ There it was. Nestled between one arm and her hip was just one waterskin, but still the sight of it brought a triumphant smile upon his face. The triumph turned to awe as he watched her pull the water out with a flick of her wrist and freeze all of the men's wrists to the ground, pinning them rather effectively. She then ran over to Zuko and bent over, blowing cold air onto his rock cuffs. They shattered quickly, as she had frozen the earthen gloves completely, and she pulled him up. They stood back up, back to back, facing the circle of dark and disenchanted soldiers. One of them sighed, and tossed his head back.

"CHAN!?" Zuko nearly fell backward with the shock.

"Shut your trap, Oh-Princely-One. I'm only here because Kira's here." The arrogant Fire-Nation bastard sighed, pointing to another hooded figure, who had managed to break one of the ice cuffs around his wrist, and was pulling off his hood.

"Kira!" Katara shouted, diving to the ground with a goofy, ecstatic smile.

"Katara! I thought I'd never see you again! I'm sorry we attacked you," the woman amended after Katara had relinquished her death-grip. _Man, I'm confused!_

"Ah, Katara?"

"Oh, right, I'm sorry Zuko." The waterbender stood. "This is Kira, one of the Kiyoshi warriors."

"Z-Zuko," the warrior stuttered from the ground. "You!" She fought against the cuffs. At his name, the other cloaked warriors took off their hoods, revealing another female face, each one painted with perfect Kiyoshi war paint. They did not look happy.

"The Great Warriors of Kiyoshi Island," he said reverently, bowing in a gentlemanly fashion before sinking to his knees to bow before them. "I apologize for having, ah," he searched for a proper word, "disturbed your town those few months ago. I have found my place at last, and I see now how much I have hurt your people. Please accept my humblest apologies. We can lead you back to Suki, if you wish," he added as an afterthought: nothing like a bribe to sweeten a sour reunion.

The girls scattered around the elk-bats all got up at once, jumping and cheering happily. "Suki," they whispered to each other. _They miss her, their leader, their best friend. _He remembered Aang and Sokka, and finally his own Uncle. _I guess I know how that feels._

Chan, who had now stood and made his way to Zuko's side, cleared his throat. Zuko turned to face him. "Listen," the teen began, averting his eyes. He clearly wasn't used to confrontation, unless he were dominant. "I don't know what we did to piss you off so much at Ember Island," he said, "I guess maybe I shouldn'a flirted with your girlfriend, but… I'm sorry, for whatever its worth. The Kiyoshi Warriors were sent to one of my other houses, you see, and me and my boys were gonna have our way with 'em until one of them caught my eye." Chan sighed, and glanced over to Kira, who was laughing with Katara about something unbeknownst to either adolescent. "She convinced us not to do anything to them, and for a while we just talked. I love her," he finished, making eye contact with Zuko.

"Not that I don't appreciate your explanation, but why are you telling me this?"

Chan shook his head. "No reason. I just figure we'd better iron some things out if were gonna be bunking."

"Bunking?"

"Yeah. We were looking for you guys. Kira and everyone else," he gestured to the small mass of girls behind him, "were trying to find Suki so they could help with ending the war. We want to help," he pleaded.

"Oh. Uh, yeah, sure, you guys can come back to the Air Temple with us. Aang will be glad to know more of his friends are safe," he added. "The more help we can get at this point, the better. How long do we have until the comet arrives?"

"Uh," Chan lifted up one arm where he had tiny pockmarks: little circular burns. Match burns. "Six days, from what I can tell." He looked to the sky for a moment, then to Kira, and back to Zuko. "I hope so, at any rate." Zuko nodded.

"Did you guys come through a forest or something on your way over?"

"Yeah, actually, about a half a kilometer south of here. I don't know if the girls are going to want to backtrack though, knowing their family is so close by. Would you mind if we separated? We'll meet you two back at, where did you say you were stationed now?"

"The Western Air Temple," he said slowly, pointing North. "We're just south of it. You'll be there by nightfall. Whatever you do, don't give us away, okay Chan?"

"You got it." It was tough for Zuko to trust this man, this boy. He had very nearly ruined everything for him and Mai, and for that Zuko had crashed his party, breaking everything he could get his hands on and burning everything he couldn't. Still, something seemed suspicious about the whole thing. How would they know where to look for the gang? Where was Chan's other friend, Ruon-Jian? Something about it seemed too fishy about it. Chan was too much of a spidersnake in the grass to be trusted, at least for now.

They separated with few goodbyes, the only hugs being between Katara and the Kiyoshi warriors, and after she and Zuko gave them directions, the larger group trotted off on Chan's pets, the elk-bats. Eerie creatures, really. They hopped more than ran, beating their wings every few feet to kick themselves into the air. It was a smooth ride, from what he had been told, but it looked to be anything but. Besides, in the Fire Nation Palace, they only used mongoose dragons.

At any rate, the two continued south for a little while longer, only exchanging pleasantries until Katara stopped and looked up at him. "How did you know Chan?"

"Huh?"

"You knew his name, and you seemed kind of shocked to see him out here. How do you know him?"

"Uh, well, I don't know that that's such a good story to tell right now. Let's just keep going," he said, turning around to do just that.

"No," Katara said more forcefully, grabbing one of his wrists and jerking him back a bit. "Please, Zuko, I want to know. I don't want to keep secrets with you, nor you with me, not anymore." She was pleading now, he could see it in the way her cerulean blue eyes sparkled a little too much to be normal.

He sighed. "Fine. While I was with Azula," he nearly spat the word, "in the Fire Nation after the, uh, catacombs of Ba Sing Se, we were sent to my family's old summer house on Ember Island." He paused. "Maybe I'll take you there someday," he mumbled, but shook his head. "Anyway, Azula invited herself to Chan's party, and the rest of us with her- Mai, Ty Lee and I." As he said Mai's name, Katara's eyes narrowed, and she stiffened. "The rest of the night is, uh, a blur. Too much fire rum, you know." He shrugged it off, hoping she wouldn't ask more questions.

"Eugh! Spirits, Zuko, you didn't _do it _with Mai, did you?" She took a step back. _Repulsed._

"No! N-no, that's not what I meant. We just, ah, got a little carried away and completely thrashed his house, that's all. I never felt any of that for Mai, trust me." He smiled to himself a little, and Katara relaxed. "Why?"

"What?"

"Why do you care?"

"Uhm, well, ah, I don't. I just don't like her."

"So you like me?"

"I didn't say that."

"But you didn't say you _didn't_. Anyway, you care enough to see that I didn't go too far with a girl you don't like. Who should I _go too far with_, then, hm?" He took a step forward, a sly grin plastered on his lips. Katara took another step back, and put her hands out defensively.

"No, Zuko, that's not what I meant! She tried to _kill _us, Zuko!" He stopped.

"Us?" Katara blinked, and floundered for an explaination.

"Before you joined us, she'd tried to kill us all, at one point or another, Zuko. Don't tell me you can't see it happening." Zuko frowned, but nodded.

"What you don't know," he took another step forward. This time, Katara didn't move, "is that she saved your father, your brother and I at the Boiling Rock. She risked her life, her loyalty to my sister, and her honor to save us." Katara stayed quiet. "She was a good person, really, she just didn't know how to express herself." Zuko didn't know exactly why he was explaining it, or why he couldn't stop talking about it. "I don't think I ever really _loved_ her, though. It never seemed natural. It was settling, I know it now."

Katara nodded. "You can do better that Mai."

Zuko smiled. "Thank you." He leaned forward. "Oh really, though? Who, exactly, do you find suitable?" Katara laughed awkwardly.

"Psh, nobody, I don't know, it doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does," he said more seriously. He took another step forward, but Katara took another step back, successfully running into a tree. A tree! They had found fire wood!

"No, really, Zuko. It doesn't." For a moment, his heart rate sped when she said his name. _Stupid goddamned mushrooms, _he inwardly cursed. Surely they should have been out of his system by now.

"I think it does, little girl," he teased, raising a hand to the left side of Katara's face. He placed his hand over her cheek with his thumb over her lips, just like in the crystal caverns below Ba Sing Se. "Do you remember?" he whispered, leaning forward again. She nodded a bit. "I remember," he said slowly, "everything." He moved his hand away, and shifted to the side to get a better view of the forest.

He heard Katara laugh. "Firewood," she said simply, but she took a step toward him and put both hands at either side of his face, gently pulling his head downward to face her. "Everything," she repeated him, and stood on her tip-toes.

Time slowed down. All Zuko could see was her. It was as if the world ceased to exist- no war, no Avatar, no Azula, no Ozai, no _nothing_. He smiled, and watched as her eyes fluttered closed, ever so slowly, and she waited. He blinked once, twice, and leant his head down that last few centimeters. He canted his head to the side a few degrees and let his lips barely brush hers. This was different from before: they both wanted it now. It felt right, for some unseen reason. Despite everything that was, it felt right. He let himself linger there for a moment, but when he started to pull away a little, she put a hand at the back of his neck and stood up taller. She pressed her lips against his a bit more fervently, and _sages _were they _soft_. It had to be against some law somewhere for lips to exist that were as soft as these. How did he not remember this? He wanted more. He allowed one arm to curl around her waist, and pulled her closer. His other arm he placed against the tree that was behind her, and her lips opened; very little, but they still opened. Zuko let his tongue brush against her bottom lip, and he felt her sharp intake of air. Still, she didn't move away.

_Definitely should be illegal_, he thought again, and he pressed his lips to hers again, her bottom lip resting between both of his. He suckled it gently, to which Katara leant against him, and then let his senses take over. He heard her gasp, and he took advantage of it by stealing her tongue from her mouth and into his. Soon she got the hang of it and they kissed for a few minutes longer, until he heard clapping behind him. He pulled away quickly and turned, ready to defend her with his heart and soul.

The cold, heartless yellow eyes of his sister glared at him from a few meters away. She continued clapping.

"How _sweet_," she sneered.

"Azula," he warned, just before he saw the lightning.

_**(A/N: Again, thank you SO much for reading! Please review, I'd love to be able to improve upon my writing. I love the Zutara-ness in this one! I know, it seems a bit OOC, but I thought I made it work okay. All my love, Khepri.)**_


	12. Chapter 12: Expect the Unexpected

_**A/N: Hey everybody! I'm sorry it's been so long, but I've been so busy. It's unexcusable, I know. On the bright side, I've declared my dorkishness to some of my friends, so perhaps they'll be reading soon. :P Anyway, I rewrote this chapter because I didn't like it. Let me know what you think.**_

**Disclaimer:I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender, nor do I make profit off it.**

**Chapter 12: **Expect the Unexpected

Katara stood stock still.

_Azula._

It was as if whatever she and Zuko had going was a sin, and this was the Tui and La condemning them for it. It was Zuko's past come to haunt her; come to hunt her down and kill her with those tacky but lethally sharpened nails.

The first thing she noticed after that was Zuko, who straightened, stiffened, and stepped between her and his sister, arms tensed and ready to defend. The next thing was the stick digging into her back from the tree he unwittingly pinned her against. _Good job, Zuko._Next, she noticed Azula herself. She wore intense armor and a pair of fingerless gloves that looked as if they had scales; again, tacky, but lethal. Zuko's sister's eyes were also wide open and surveying everything, though her brows were fixed in that irreparable half-scowl that encompassed the entire top half of her face; to the bottom half, her lips twitched once and curled into a vicious grin, Cheshire in nature.

Despite herself, Katara was still flushed from her kiss with Zuko. What did that make them, she wondered, as she watched Zuko shift his weight to his other foot and lift his hands into more offensive posture. Still, she was pressed into a tree, and he was unwilling to let her go.

Her lips tingled. Her toes tingled. Her skin was _on fire_, but at the same time, she had a cold sweat going.

"Azula," she heard Zuko repeat before he leapt in front of her, tossing an arm up to reach the lightning that his own sister had aimed. She rolled out of the way of another strike, diving beside him to roll toward that same sister. She pulled the water from the few trees closest to her and froze Azula's feet; a reflex. Of course, the fire princess melted that sad attempt within moments, and then threw fire at the waterbender.

Zuko was still standing: that was a good sign. He had a look of intense concentration as he shifted his weight again, drawing the opposite arm to his lower abdomen (had he always been shirtless?) then a straight shot toward his sister. Straight toward Azula. Her own blue lightning, struck back at her. She should have expected it, Katara thought wistfully. She should have thought through it and defended herself.

"You're losing your touch, _Azula_," Katara sneered, throwing and arm out to freeze the princess's hands, feet, eyes and mouth in a thick coat of ice. Zuko had always said that firebending came from the breathing, didn't he? Well, she would certainly have to shift her ways of bending if she could only breathe through her nose! Katara almost laughed.

Why was she so snarky all of a sudden? Of course, this was obvious: she was feeling ecstatic, blissful and proud after her moment with Zuko. She drew her other arm up slowly, and with it Azula rose to face her brother and his latest love interest (if that's what they were now, that is). Her eyes, though closed, flickered beneath the lids, and she tried to scream something that was completely swallowed by the ice. When Katara felt her raise her body temperature, she curled her hand into a fist, and her skin nearly turned blue.

Zuko was quiet. He knelt on the ground, but watched Katara with wide eyes. She only blinked at him. Hadn't she told him about Hama? About bloodbending? Why was he looking at her that way? Zuko made a motion to her, and Katara relinquished her icy grip on the blue-ish fire princess's body, letting her crumple onto the ground where she fell.

Of course, the migraine that formed at the corners of Katara's mind would want to repay her for not waiting until the full moon- wait, since when was she able to bloodbend without the full moon? What day was it? Damn, she didn't remember.

Zuko kneeled again, but by his sister's head, and he put a palm to her forehead. He closed his eyes, and slowly but surely, his sister's temperature rose back to normal. She bucked and tossed her head, but kept her eyes closed.

Katara watched Zuko's callused hand trace down the side of his sister's cheek slowly, until he reached her neck. Then, he quickened. His fingers wrapped around her neck, and he lifted her up again.

"Who is with you? How did you know to find us here?" he demanded, shaking her once. She shook her head, but opened her eyes and smiled wickedly.

"You never did like him, did you? Poor thing, he was disowned after we trashed his house, do you remember? That vase, apparently it was some sort of family heirloom. Ah well, anyway, I found him begging, and we spent a while together. I convinced his family to take him back and ack-" Zuko had put more pressure on his grip, and she tried to kick him (though it was to no avail). When he loosened it again, she continued after spluttering for a bit. "He- we- decided to take our revenge on you, and he managed to manipulate those damned Kiyoshi whores to take them back to the Air Temple. By the sages, how did you manage to stay hidden for so long, so close to home? I'm quite impressed really, but..."

"Stop!" Zuko yelled, putting more pressure on his little sister's neck.

"Zuko..." Katara spoke his name pleadingly, and he turned his head to her. The look on his face scared her; it was a passionate but hopeful sadness that she had only seen once before, in Jet.

At that moment, sensing Zuko's distraction, Azula kicked, dislodging her brother just enough to slip out from under him. _How can she have so much energy when I'd almost killed her?_ It didn't make sense. She was so... evil.

Zuko's reaction was delayed, but before Azula could settle into a lightning stance, he had lunged forward. She ducked out of the way, but the part of her hair was singed. She growled and aimed a roundhouse kick to the side of his head. Zuko fell. Katara gasped.

"Poor Zuzu. Still not up to par with me, I'm afraid." She kicked him in the gut. "Oh well. Father won't be pleased to see you. Perhaps I should kill you and leave you here? No, no, that wouldn't do..."

Meanwhile, Katara was pulling water from the air. It made her dizzy, after her bloodbending stunt, but she had to do something! Azula would kill Zuko, or worse: bring him to Ozai.

"No," she said calmly. "You will not take him."

"Oh? Pathetic," Azula spat, grabbing a fistful of her brother's hair. Katara watched a drop of blood fall from his lip. "You want him? Come and get him, peasant!" She began the circular motions of her arms to gather energy for lightning, but the waterbending Master threw the ice daggers she had gathered from the trees behind her. _Sorry!_

Azula tossed her brother to the side almost effortlessly, and cartwheeled to the side. _Must've learned something from Ty Lee. _One of the ice daggers impaled itself into her shoulder, and melted quickly from the firebender's anger.

"You slut! You'll pay for that," she snarled, lunging forward to throw twin blasts of fire at Katara.

She was unable to dodge it completely; it caught the edge of her pant leg and singed her skin before she could swat it out. There was no more water; she was defeated. A quick survey of the area told her that Zuko was unconscious, but the damage was not enough to kill him. She sighed in relief before she caught one of Azula's kicks to her side. It knocked her to the ground, and before she could get up, the Princess kicked her in the head. All she saw before she blacked out was Azula's scuffed boot heading toward her, and Zuko, on his feet a few paced behind.

"Stupid whore. Father will have fun with you," she heard through the dark oblivion.

"No." _Zuko!_

_**A/N: Review, please! All my love, Khepri.**_


	13. Chapter 13: Bitter Conversation

_**A/N: Woo! I'm on a roll! I decided to go a different direction than originally planned... So here's the next chapter.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender, nor do I make profit off it.**

**Chapter 13:**Bitter Return

Zuko mustered all of the strength he could to lift himself up from the ground. Azula stood a few feet away, hovering over Katara before he saw her kick the girl in the head. Katara went limp. _How strange, _he thought, _that she should look so peaceful even at a time like this._

"Stupid whore. Father will have fun with you," Azula said, nudging the girl with her foot with a laugh.

All at once, Zuko's vision went red. His heart remained calm, but his fingers twitched and his chest constricted. His fists lit in fluorescent fire, lighting up the clearing in blue first, then red, then... white. Azula turned.

"No," Zuko said with a voice that was not his own; it was deeper, breathier, but surely it meant hell.

Azula turned, swinging an arm upward before settling into a grounded stance. "Big brother, do you really think you can defeat me? Hah!" She taunted him like it was a game.

Zuko said nothing, but lunged forward, sending a wave of white fire with his hands opened toward his sister.

She dismissed it easily, maintaining her form perfectly.

He was frozen; it was too late to counter her attack, and evading her lightning was impossible, since he was the tallest thing in the clearing. Zuko could count the seconds that went by while his sister formed lightning between her fingertips. One step forward (three seconds), a move of her left arm (four), direction of her gathered energy toward his abdomen (five), a lunge forward (six), and the world went white.

_I am so sorry, Katara._

-A:TLA-

"Wake him up," a voice sounded beside him.

"Yes, Princess."

Zuko was kicked in the leg, and he groaned. He tried to sit up, but the pain in his chest flared and knocked him back down. His ankle was shackled to a wall beside him, and his hands were bound behind his back.

"Get up, _Prince _Zuko," said a girl with rather small feet, for what Zuko could see of her. Slender calves, too white to be healthy. He coughed.

"_Mai!?"_

"Don't sound so surprised." She kicked him in the leg again, harder. He grunted and turned on his side. He couldn't look at her.

"Why are you...?"

"I've learned my lesson, Zuko. I guess being dumped through a _note_ and being left behind a few times too many helped me realize who my real _friends_ are." Her voice was too calm, but he felt nothing in response to her harsh words.

"Yes, Zuzu. She's figured something out that you seem to have problems with." She knelt beside him. "Now you must understand that you made the wrong decision, brother. You should have stayed here, with us. But of course you had to go and run away again. It's so like you. Tell me, were you happy with the Avatar and his little friends?" She ran a fingernail over his cheek.

He snarled and threw his head. "Fuck you." That earned him another kick, this time, to his gut.

"Wrong answer."

Zuko hacked up a mouthful of blood, and spat it to the side. "It's not like it matters," he grumbled.

"No, you're right. Mai, go check on the other prisoner."

"Yes, Princess." Footsteps declared Mai's exit.

"Your little girlfriend is being kept in separate quarters, on the other side of the ship. She's being kept under watch, and has been drugged, the poor thing." Azula smiled. "You've also been drugged, dearest brother. Try and bend."

Zuko glared at her, and took a deep breath. _In._ _I'm so sorry, Katara. Please, Agni, let her be alright. _He held it for a moment, and released it as his breath of fire. _Out. _Nothing happened. _I'll kill them if it's the last thing I do. _He threw a fist forward, stopping hardly an inch from his sister's unaffected fact. _Nothing_. _Oh, Uncle, I've failed you, too. _"What is this!?" he demanded, slamming the side of his fist against the metal wall behind him. Its hollow reverberations only made him feel emptier.

"Oh, nothing much, just a simple chi-blocking injection." He watched Azula pull an empty syringe from one of her pockets, dangling it in front of him like bait. When she removed the cap, he could see that the needle was at least two inches long. Suddenly, one spot on his right thigh was quite painful. _Shit. _"I've got to check our progress, _Zuzu_, do you think you can stand a bit of time without me?" She laughed wretchedly, but sobered quickly. She leant forward. "Don't try anything."

Zuko spat in her face.

A kick to the side of his head, and she was gone, grumbling profanities and wiping at her face with her sleeve. Zuko almost smiled.

-A:TLA-

Hours later, he was awakened by the squeak of a metal hinge; his cell door opening, then closing with a heavy click. He breathed in the heady smell of rice and sea-mammal stew, and opened his eyes. _Food._

A quick glance around the surrounding area, and Zuko knew little more about the situation. The cell was made of standard metal bars, too close together to even fit his arm through, and thick rock door; no lock, no key, no hinge. _Earthbenders. Crap. _Outside the cell, there was only a passageway maybe two feet wide. If he got up, he could probably look down it, but he doubted there was much to hope for as far as that went. The rest of the cell was barren, aside from a small wooden bowl with a pair of chopsticks balanced on its rim.

Whoever had come in and left it was already gone, so Zuko grabbed the bowl and began to eat. It wasn't nearly as bad as Katara's cooking (_who could eat that bland crap anyway? She should try cooking Fire Nation food_), in fact it reminded him of his years aboard his ship, searching for the Avatar.

When he was done, he set the bowl back by the door, and settled himself in a corner. He closed his eyes, and willed sleep to come. All he got was questions.

_Where is Katara? Is she alright? How are we going to get out of here? Where are we going? What will Ozai do to Katara? Will Mai ever forgive me? Why should I want her forgiveness? Have Aang and the rest of them figured out we're missing yet? Could there be any men on this ship that might help me?_

After nearly an hour of this, Zuko's headache influenced him to meditate. It was quiet, at least, aside from the standard creaking of any Fire Nation ship. He sat facing the wall, as it was the only way he could cross his legs, with his ankle chained to the wall. He laid his hands upward on his knees in the lotus position, and concentrated on clearing his mind of all thoughts.

_Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. Yin, yang. Tui, La. Water, fire._

_Water. Katara._

He was jolted back to full consciousness when he heard a muffled scream through the wall. _Oh, no._

"Katara!"


	14. Chapter 14: Concubine

_**A/N: Since school, for me, has ended, I have a lot more free time. Of course, I didn't have any internet connection until today (I'm in the middle of moving to Texas) so I was unable to post this until now. Please please please let me know how I'm doing!**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender, nor do I make profit off it.**

**Chapter 14:**Concubine

Katara screamed.

"A CONCUBINE!?"

_No. NO! I will not take this stupid fucking slut goddamn Ozai stupid stupid stupid stupid I'm gonna die before I let him (stupid Fire Lord) touch me or talk to me if he even looks at me I'm gonna make him wish he'd never killed my mother I'll kill him stupid Fire Lord... _The remainder of Katara's thoughts were jumbled and incomprehensible.

"Quiet down, peasant." Mai pulled out a knife and balanced the tip on her finger. She would have threatened the water bender, but sticking the knife in the cell was a bad idea.

"I will not! I refuse to be Ozai's" (Mai cringed at her use of the Fire Lord's first name so nonchalantly; anyone else would be killed for such a crime) "glorified _whore_, regardless of anything you might do to me." Katara leaned forward. "Got that?"

Mai almost laughed. Almost. "Stupid girl. I don't think the Fire Lord will appreciate such unkind words. Might even take it out on Zuko," she said, smiling sweetly though it never reached her eyes.

Katara was taken aback. "Zuko. Where is he? What have you done to him?"

"He's fine... for now, anyway. If you refuse the Fire Lord's request, though, I don't doubt that he would have Zuko slaughtered in front of you, his own son or not." Mai shrugged. After a moment of thought, she spoke again. "Do not make the mistake of assuming I care what you think. I'm only here on the Princess's orders. It doesn't matter to me if you die here, or if Zuko dies for you." Katara didn't notice Mai swallow the merciless lump of pity and cowardice that had caught in her throat.

Katara felt tears gathering at the corners of her eyes, but she blinked them away silently. She lowered her head in defeat.

"Good," Mai told her. "I'll send some servants down to bring you to the Fire Lord's brothel."

"Mai, wait."

"What?"

"If you see Zuko..." Katara trailed off. Mai had already walked away. "Oh, Zuko," she said to herself. "Please forgive me."

---

A few hours later, two servants dressed impeccably well opened the door to her cell and helped Katara off her feet (if tentatively). She hadn't the strength to get up on her own, her energy still drained from having bloodbent before the full moon, and from having been kicked in the head. The two girls introduced themselves as Aria and Song. They shackled her ankles and wrists apologetically, but supported her shoulders while they led her through countless passages and hallways, through three doors and past a wide courtyard with a pond. _A pond! _Katara thought conspiratorially. _I'll have to remember that this is here. We'll get out of here before long, _she promised herself.

The girls led her down another hallway, then into a grand hall where she saw at least thirty women and teenage girls gathered around small tables, gossiping as women do, until they saw her. The tense hush that succeeded her entry was only broken by the three pairs of footsteps. Once they were halfway across the room, the women began to whisper. Aria and Song opened a locked metal door to a long hallway with a large number of doors leading away from it. Each door had a name etched gracefully into the metal, except for one; the only one with its own lock.

_Home, sweet home,_ she thought bitterly.

The two servants opened the door, and told her that dinner would be in three hours. After that, she was to report to the Fire Lord's private quarters. They then ushered her into the room, following her and closing the door behind them. Aria stepped forward.

"Lady Katara," Aria addressed the watertribe girl, who was surprised at her formality. "We have been assigned to ready you for your meeting with his Lordship this evening. Please remove your clothing, and we will begin," said Aria, sweeping a hand toward the bathroom.

Katara spluttered and blushed profusely. "Uh, thank you, but I can get ready myself."

"Nonsense. The Fire Lord will have our heads if we do not help you. Besides," Aria smiled, "you've been through a lot lately. Let us take care of you."

Aria and Song's kindness overwhelmed Katara. She could only nod as Aria disappeared into the tiny bathroom at the corner of the room, Song to a closet across the hallway. She took this time to survey the room quickly. There was a small bed, outfitted with sheets, a pillow and a few blankets of standard Fire Nation red, embroidered with gold. There was a small lamp nailed to the wall and topped with a red shade, and a large full-length mirror on the door to the bathroom. Aside from that, the room was limitedly furnished. It was, however, nicer than the cell she had been locked in earlier that day. Either way, she figured she'd better not get attached; after all, she planned on escaping before the moon cycle ended.

After another moment of silent contemplation, Katara heard running water in the bathroom, and pushed away the thought of hurting these girls. If she was going to escape, she would have to wait until no one expected it. She stepped out of her clothing with some effort since her hands and feet were still shackled. The bandeau top and cutoff pants she gathered and set on the bed, though she now noticed they had been crusted in a few places with blood (though whether all of it was hers, she did not know). She covered herself with her hands as best she could, and knocked on the door to the bathroom. At Aria's beckoning call, she entered to the scent of assorted rubbing oils and hot, bubbling water. She sighed happily, flashing a smile to the girl bent over a bucket full of steaming water.

"I'm sorry," the girl said, "but I cannot take off your cuffs while you're in the presence of water." Aria lowered her head. Mercifully, the girl kept her eyes away from Katara's exposed body; after all, she was a modest teenage girl, and was rather self-conscious around other women.

_Strange, _she pondered, _how I can be so relaxed around Sokka, Aang and Zuko, but worry so much about what any of these random women think of me. _At the thought of her brother and best friend, her mood darkened, and she had to fight against the tears that burned at the corners of her eyes. _I wonder how they are... Have they noticed we're missing yet? Will they come rescue us? _No, that would never work. It was far too near to the arrival of Sozin's Comet for the Avatar to waste any time rescuing anyone. Katara could only hope that Iroh would teach Aang firebending.

"... Miss?"

"I beg pardon?"

"You can get in know, milady," Aria said, motioning to the steaming tub. When the woman turned her back to fetch towels out of a closet, Katara took advantage of her distraction and quickly stepped over the ledge and into the water. "Any oils you see that take to your fancy, feel free to use, of course."

After the waterbender soaked in the bath for a time, Aria washed her hair and provided her with a strange dried plant with which to scrub herself clean. Although soothing, it provided her only discomfort to think about the rest of her day; a meeting with the Fire Lord. It could only mean trouble. Of course, she couldn't help her thoughts from floating toward a certain firebender, the Fire Lord's son. Zuko. Worry filled her heart at the thought of him. She assured herself that he was still alive; he was not the type to give up without fighting with his all. Katara also knew that she would be heartbroken if anything would have happened to him, so she closed her eyes and let the calm of her element take over.

_**Please review.**_


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